Family Honor
by Zandrellia
Summary: InuYasha and Kikyo have been caught doing unforgiveable acts. Kagome's heart is broken and her mind confused. Miscommunication abounds and in the end it is Sesshomaru who is caught unawares.
1. I

Chapter One: The Beginning of it All

How disgusting. InuYasha and Kikyo writhed together, sweaty and moaning into the night. How dare they? Sesshomaru's golden eyes tinted red and he turned away from the scene, unable to stomach the image. How could his half-brother do this?

He knew that he was stupid but this dishonorable act was completely uncalled for. Had the woman cast some sort of spell on the boy? A frown marred his face and he growled low, slowly walking to the encampment which InuYasha had come from. There would be no choice. He would have to confront him immediately.

Entering the campsite he heard a couple startled gasps but he ignored them and stepped over to where the miko sat, unaware of him. "Woman. We must talk." Kagome's head shot up to look at him and he could hear her pulse speed up, fear. She was already excited. This would not be good. He sat on the rock she was sitting on, next to her, and gave her his best bored expression.

"Uhm, hello Lord Sesshomaru. What a pleasant surprise! What is it you need to speak with me about?" Her voice shook and wavered, her nervous anxiety obvious. He frowned a little and her fearsome scent spiked. There was no way for him to get around this without her being bothered.

He looked away from her, towards the area his brother and the undead woman were still rutting. "My brother is to come in a few moments. Be prepared. You must not get angry or frightened." Looking back to her uncertain face he allowed himself to relax his face slightly, trying to ease her tension. "Do not worry. I will take care of the matter."

Kagome was very confused. What was he talking about? Then, right as she was about to ask, InuYasha came into the clearing with a satisfied expression on his face. She smiled at him and he returned the gesture, neither missing the low growl that escaped Sesshomaru. InuYasha's eyes went wide and he drew Tetsuiga. "Sesshomaru! What are you doing here?"

The elder brother stood, ignoring the sword and threats, and walked right up to InuYasha so that he could look down on him. "You are a disgrace."

InuYasha snorted and rolled his eyes. "So you've told me. What the hell do you want?"

Sesshomaru clenched his fist, trying to contain his anger. "How dare you defile our family name by your actions? You have a woman and yet you go off to be with another behind her back while she remains to keep your food warm and your comrades comforted. Even your human mother would never have raised you to be so crude."

The hanyou sputtered and looked around at the others, all having confused expressions with a bit of hurt. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Sesshomaru growled out. "You dare to deny what I saw, just moments ago in these very woods? What of your woman? What will you do now that you have tainted her reputation?"

InuYasha frowned and glared at his brother. "I never claimed Kagome! I don't get why you're so defensive of her anyway, she's just a human!" He would have continued but a fist connected with his jaw and he flew several feet before colliding with a tree.

"You ignorant half-breed, you didn't have to make a claim on her. Your actions clearly defined that she was yours. I am hoping that you will not make me suffer through this woman's lifetime simply because you cannot control yourself!"

Kagome was very lost now. Suffer? What was going on here? "Um. Lord Sesshomaru, forgive me but… what do you mean?"

He did not turn to her, but she saw his shoulders tense. "As the head of the household it is my duty to maintain the family honor. Because you are InuYasha's woman, his… as humans would call it… wife, you are a part of the family and are under our protection until your death. Unfortunately, due to my half-brother's stupid behavior I will have to suffer the burden of your presence unless he chooses to forsake the other woman and remain loyal to you."

Sango inhaled sharply and looked to Mirkou with worried eyes. "Oh god, Mirkou. Do you know what he's saying?" The monk nodded slowly and sighed.

"They are of a royal lineage, Sango. Such arrangements are not unheard of, even if they were against both parties feelings, such as this scenario. Kagome, has no say in the matter anymore. I'm afraid that unless InuYasha gives up his trysts with Kikyo… Kagome will be given over to the elder of the house. Because Lord Sesshomaru has no wives… she will be the head wife of the Western Lands until her death."

Kagome looked around, really confused. "Um. Did you just say that if InuYasha doesn't stop sneaking around then I'll, by default, become Sesshomaru's wife?" Sango nodded to her, a worried expression on her face. Kagome fainted. 


	2. II

Chapter Two: Say that again, please?

Kagome groaned, pushing herself up from the ground and bracing her spinning head with her left hand while trying to sit up. "Ugh. What happened?"

"You fainted. Are you okay?" Shippo, concern laced in his voice. She managed a small smile, trying to make him happy.

Opening her eyes she stood, slowly and with a shaky balance, her body began to sway and she was braced by somebody. "Thanks. So, could someone exactly tell me what's going on?"

"InuYasha left, he said something about how Kikyo is better than you anyway and ran off. Kagome! I think you should get him for that! He's not right, Kikyo isn't better!" Again it was Shippo but his rambling was broken by the solid voice of Sango.

"We haven't seen him for a good while now. You were out for about an hour, must have hit your head harder than we thought. I don't think he's coming back, Kagome." The miko nodded, slowly and painfully, to her friend before something hit her.

Her face fell slightly and tears welled in her eyes. "Don't cry, Lady Kagome. He isn't worth that." Miroku, standing next to Sango with a worried expression on his face, he reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder, trying to comfort.

Kagome felt something in herself screaming out. InuYasha had chosen for once and for all and now what? Had he left them to find the shards on their own? And… who was holding her up? Turning her head slowly she looked up to find Sesshomaru, silent and unemotional, bracing her body against him.

This was too surreal. "So… I guess I have to go with you now, right?" Her tone was dejected and she saw him sigh slightly before closing his eyes to think over his words.

"No. I do not want this any more than you do, so I will not force you to be what you are not. However, I do expect certain things from you and I will not tolerate any arguments. Do we have an agreement?" He looked down at her, carefully judging her reaction.

She blinked, and looked at him with a curious expression. What was with him? Did they all think his behavior was normal? Glancing around at her friends she could see they were more concerned for her physical health than for her sanity. She frowned a little and looked up at him. "Agreed on one condition; I am merely here by title and through some strange rule of yours. If I feel in any way that I am being pressured I won't hesitate to leave."

He frowned at her and lifted her upright, pressing her firmly to him before a whole scowl crossed his face. "Woman, you have no right to make such demands. I will give you the respect that is due to you, but you cannot leave me. Ever. Stay here. I will return shortly."

Then she was sitting on the rock she had vacated earlier in her fall and he was gone, out to the woods and from her sight. Looking up at her friends with worried eyes she finally felt the first tear fall. "Why?" It was all she could ask.

Miroku frowned and sat next to her. "Kagome, you must understand. Not only are they royals but they are also dogs. You know about dogs, don't you?"

Kagome's brow furrowed and she tried to remember anything she may have heard about dogs. A program from television came to her mind, the narrator's voice in her head explaining how dogs behaved. "Dogs are pack animals that often run with several others of their kind. Usually there is a head male and sometimes a secondary male with a group of females."

The monk nodded and sighed. "Yes, and in the case of youkai who are of dog breeds they have the same need. Sesshomaru is alpha male in his pack and InuYasha would be considered secondary. A female which is taken in by the pack is to be protected at all costs for they serve one purpose, procreation." Kagome gasped and her eyes grew fearful. "Don't worry. Because youkai also have similar habits of humans, despite what they might claim, he will not dishonor you by forcing you to bear him an heir. I believe that Lord Sesshomaru truly feels that InuYasha had claimed you as part of his pack and thus, part of his own. When he found his brother with Kikyo he was confused by his actions. You see, unlike the lower end of dogs, inu youkai usually mate with one female. They also mate for life, so no other female could come into the picture unless the previous were dead. Because Kikyo had died Sesshomaru no longer viewed her as his brother's wife. You, from what he had seen, were the new wife."

Sango nodded and looked at Kagome sharply. "It is understandable why he would think you are InuYasha's wife. I don't know how they do things in your time but here if a woman cares for a man's needs, as you do for him, then it is often assumed they are wed or will be soon. Also, because you have expressed your love for him on several occasions and because he has protected you so fiercely it is not very strange to think that anyone would feel that you are united by marriage."

The tears continued to fall down Kagome's face; she wasn't sure how to handle this. "So, what will happen to me now?"

"Well, it appears that Lord Sesshomaru has given you the opportunity to continue to hunt for jewel shards. But… when we are done and Naraku is defeated… you will have to go with him. You are the new Lady of the Western Lands, Kagome, there is little you can do about it now."

Kagome frowned and clenched her fists in her lap before staring up at the sky. "Well… at least I know he can never kill me and I will always be taken care of. I just… I always wanted to marry for love. Where I come from, arrangements like this are very rare. I never even thought about the possibility of this."

Sango pulled Kagome into a hug and smiled. "Neither did we. Just try to make the best of it and remember that we're always here for you." 


	3. III

Chapter Three: Be Silent or Be Silenced

Sesshomaru returned to the clearing the next day. Kagome was ticked. She ran up to him, hands flailing and face fuming in anger. "How dare you? You could have said you were going to be back in a day instead of wasting our time like this! I don't care what sort of favor you think you're doing me; we've lost valuable daylight for whatever reason you think is more important."

His face never changed. He didn't look angry or look happy. He didn't look anything, but his voice when it left his firmly kept lips was icy and dripping with rage. "Woman, hold your tongue this instant." His arm reached out behind him, signaling for those behind him to come up. Jaken and Rin, two familiar faces, and an unknown young inu-girl came to stand closer but still a respectable distance behind him. In a rather bored tone he held out his hand to introduce them. "This is Jaken, my retainer. He is not to be abused or used for the services of anyone but me. The human child is Rin; she won't go away so it will be your duty to care for her from now on as Jaken is inadequate for the duty." The toad could be seen sqwuaking in surprise but he was ignored by Sesshomaru who continued his introduction. "The girl is your new handmaid. She is to assist you with whatever you deem important, primarily bathing, dressing, and caring for Rin when you are occupied. What you do with her otherwise is not my concern."

Kagome blinked in confusion and her brow furrowed. "Thanks but I really don't need somebody to help me with any of those. I can dress and bathe myself just fine."

Sesshomaru's eyes tightened in their glare of her and she felt a small invisible hole burning into her forehead. Damn. He really was intimidating. What was his issue? Then he spoke, attempting to be softer but failing miserably to where it came out grating and harsher than before. "Woman, you will use a handmaid to be dressed as a proper lady. I will not have a woman in my presence that is dressed so… inappropriately."

A blush quickly crept onto the young miko's face and she was about to say something when she felt a strong grip on her upper arm. Turning suddenly she saw Sango, looking at her with a pointed expression. "Lord Sesshomaru, may I please have a private word with Lady Kagome?" At his small nod she dragged the girl into the woods, forcefully pulling her. "Kagome! What are you doing? Don't you know that he can punish you for that?"

"What? Punish me for what? I didn't do anything!"

Sango sighed and shook her head. "You don't get it. It's his duty to see to it that your needs are kept, true enough, but it's yours to accept his actions… silently… and assure that his are kept in return. I know you don't like him but I'd really not like to see you beaten. We don't know what kind of man Sesshomaru is when it comes to women, Kagome!"

A frown lightly made its way onto Sesshomaru's face. He could hear every word they were saying and he wasn't pleased. How dare that stupid woman? He should punish HER for her insolence! While his father was often led by his baser instincts he was not a man without dignity or honor and he did raise his son on the same path… how dare she insinuate that he would ever hurt a woman under his name! Suddenly the minimal frown shifted into a smile, a rather devilish grin if you will. Perhaps more could be gained from this than meets the eye.

Jaken shifted uncomfortably. Lord Sesshomaru was smiling! Looking around he could find nothing that would amuse his master so that left only one possible solution. His lord had found some way to put somebody in turmoil. The little toad shuddered and hoped it was not him. Before he could ask the two human women came back into the campsite, the slayer looking annoyed and the miko looking startled and a little angry.

Sesshomaru gestured to Rin, wordlessly telling her to go to Kagome and then turned to sit upon the rock that had been well abused most of the past few days. He seemed to be waiting for something but did not say a word. The child happily skipped up to Kagome and grinned widely.

Kagome smiled and bowed slightly. "Hello Rin. I am told that I will be taking care of you from now on. My name is Kagome and I hope that we can be good friends." The little girl giggled a little and merely nodded. Then Kagome turned to the handmaid and leaned down, trying to see her downward face. "Hello? What is your name?"

"Maeko." Barely a whisper. She seemed terrified.

The young miko smiled down at her. "Well that's a pretty name, isn't it Rin?" Again the child nodded happily. She ignored her lack of speech and continued to talk to the maid. "I think we need to get some firewood and water. It's time to start some lunch."

Once the orders were given the young girl sprang to life, running about gathering firewood and returning with a whole pail of water quickly. Kagome laughed, she would have taken a good thirty minutes to get all of this! "Thank you Maeko! Would you girls like me to show you how to cook ramen?" Both the girls seemed confused but nodded slowly.

Sango and Miroku stood to the side, watching. Shippo was bouncing behind Kagome, impatiently waiting for his food, while Rin and Maeko seemed intent on forcing the water to boil with their stares. Sango couldn't help but giggle a little. Her laughter stopped short when her gaze traveled over to the stoic youkai sitting on the rock and the little green toad next to him. Jaken was glaring at Kagome and soundlessly muttering things. From what she could make out of his lip movements it was something about 'filthy humans'.

Sesshomaru was watching Kagome, though, rather intently. As if he were weighing out and measuring something within his mind. In a way, Sango felt just as sorry for him as she did for Kagome in this whole situation. It wasn't his fault that InuYasha was unprepared to be a man… well… maybe it was. Her musings were halted when Miroku's voice entered her thoughts. "Do you think InuYasha will return anytime soon?"

With a shake of her head she sighed. "Not really. Unless somehow he gains a lot more maturity before nightfall; we're probably not going to see him for a good week or two before he can really understand what's going on." Then Kagome came up to them, smiling and holding a pair of warm bowls. Sango sighed and looked over to where Sesshomaru was, without a bowl.

Miroku saved her from the lesson and gave it himself. "Lady Kagome, no disrespect, but here in our culture it is inappropriate for anyone but the husband to receive his meal first." Kagome's face darkened and she sighed, thrusting the bowls into their hands.

"Who says I want to make him comfortable? He's the one who forced me into this!" Sango and Miroku both groaned and lowered their heads in defeat.

"Just so you know; it is also inappropriate for anyone to eat until the husband has begun." Sango said, trying her best to smooth the situation over. Kagome turned and began to walk away but she reached out, grasping her by the forearm. "Please, Kagome, don't make this worse. We could lose you." Tears welled within her eyes, a genuine look of concern on her face.

The miko sighed and lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just going to have to get used to this. It's just not fair!" 


	4. IV

Chapter Four: What My Eyes Behold

"Excuse me mistress, but my lord has bade me to dress you properly. If you please, follow me, I have found a suitable bathing place." Maeko bowed low before Kagome, speaking softly.

Kagome sighed and looked around to see the ever chatting Sango and Miroku to be silent and watching her with pointed glances. Shippo and Rin were both asleep near the fire. Sesshomaru and Jaken were nowhere to be found. "I don't feel like a bath, thank you."

Maeko shivered slightly and bowed lower, a pleading tone falling from her lips. "Lord Sesshomaru requests it."

As if that were supposed to make her mind up. Kagome bit her lip hard and frowned when she could taste the copper acid of her blood. Standing she turned and began to walk, never saying a word to the girl. Maeko jumped to life, as she seemed to do so easily, and ran before Kagome to lead her to the bathing point.

When they reached the small river Kagome began to untie her clothes but was shocked to find the young girl already attempting to remove the garments. She held out her hand and signaled for her to stop. "I can do this, okay?" Maeko seemed a little surprised but nodded, going to a bag she had brought along and pulling out some items to prepare.

Once she was stripped, Kagome walked to the side of the river and stepped in. It was freezing! "Isn't there a hot spring near by?" She pleaded. The maid seemed confused.

"You are merely to bathe, mistress, and my lord wishes to view you when you are finished." The miko's eyes went huge. View me? What the hell? Before she could argue the girl was in the water next to her, leading her further into the chilly depths and then running a rough sponge along her skin vigorously. "Do you mind if I say something that could be considered out of line, mistress?"

Kagome nearly cried out in pain and instead bit her lip again, nodding as a small mewl left her throat. What was she trying to do? Rub her skin off?

"I know that you are from an unusual and slightly uncivilized place, mistress. My lord explained to me that you are unused to customs or social situations, so I suppose that your behavior is not completely odd. However, I find your reactions towards my lord to be very strange." Maeko laughed lightly and then turned Kagome around to wash the front. "I guess he could be seen as a little intimidating to a girl with no understanding of such a union but if… if I may be so bold to say… if I were in your place I would probably be the happiest woman alive. My lord is quite fetching in appearance and he is not a bothersome man, unlike most less graceful men… poor men, if you will… he would let you alone to do your wishes and only expect a dutiful wife in return. What are a few warmed meals, a couple moments of silence, and a few nights in his bed in exchange for such freedom?"

Kagome felt herself choke when Maeko mentioned sharing a bed with Sesshomaru. Damn. If he was so great why wasn't he already married? She rolled her eyes at that and laughed sarcastically. "Maeko, where I come from a marriage between a man and a woman is more than just appearance. They enjoy spending their time together and often have much in common to share. Lord Sesshomaru and I have nothing in common and we certainly don't enjoy each other's time."

It was the handmaiden's turn to laugh. "Why, Lady Kagome, you are quaint! You do not speak of marriage, you speak of love!" She took the miko's hand and led her out of the water, quickly taking a cotton cloth to drying her. "Love is such a rare occurrence. Every woman dreams of it but so few find it. You shouldn't dash your chances at happiness with my lord simply for a folly. He can take care of you, mistress! You'll never want for anything but love. And love, as we both know, one can live without."

That struck Kagome. It sounded so logical and so honest. Within her mind she was agreeing completely but her heart screamed out for her not to give up. Love was not so hard to find, was it? She loved InuYasha, after all, right? A slight frown formed on her lips and she absently felt her body being moved, hand being placed to hold cloth, hair being pulled tight. Could this handmaid have a point? Could she be giving up a chance for happiness simply for a foolish dream?

She felt tears well up in her eyes. This was so confusing! How could she know what was right? Maeko's lilting voice interrupted her thoughts. "All finished. My lord said for you to go east from here, there you will find him waiting for you." She smiled and Kagome felt a small nudge, probably eastward.

Turning she was about to tell her to take her things back to the camp but the girl was already gone. Strange, she usually wasn't that quick. With a sigh she began to walk, noticing that she was now wearing traditional sandals instead of her comfortable shoes. Sesshomaru would definitely pay for this.

Ten minutes later she had her chance to tell him. He stood, staring at the moon in the distance, seemingly blending in with nature. Maeko did have a point; Sesshomaru was attractive to look at, if nothing else. She sighed a little and shook her head to clear her thoughts, drawing his attention to her. He merely stared at her, not saying anything, and then he walked around her and eyed her form carefully as if he were choosing a prize animal.

"Acceptable."

What? Kagome's mind was reeling. That was it? Acceptable! That was all she was now? A small frown formed on her face and she bit her lip again. How rude. He could at least show some sort of gentlemanly behavior when they were alone! A hand reached out and lifted her face, startling her out of her musings. His hand, holding her chin so delicately, was so warm that she couldn't help the little blush that crept up onto her face. Then his finger reached up, tracing the cut on her bottom lip slowly, as if assuring it were there.

"Why do you insist on marring yourself like this? People will think you are unhappy. Don't do that anymore, more marks such as this will make you difficult to look at." His voice never changed, as if he were stating some sort of fact.

Kagome felt her stomach clench at his words. They were so cold but her whole body felt as if it were doing flip-flops. He just insinuated that she was not difficult to look at…. That she was pretty. To top it off he also seemed to allude to some sort of concern for her happiness. She smiled at him, her eyes glazed over with her thoughts, and he released her face and turned to look back at the moon.

"Your duties to finding the shikon jewel shards will be seen to, however, in one week's time I will require that we leave your friends and travel to my home. I must introduce you."

"Introduce me?"

He seemed a little bored at having to explain something so simple. "Indeed. You must be presented before the land. You are the new lady and as such there are duties and responsibilities which come with the title. So while we are there you are expected to see to the matters appropriately. We will forego any mating ceremony as I have no desire to be in such a bond with you, this is merely a contract to maintain dignity."

She nodded in understanding but didn't say anything, still in a daze from his admission that she was nice to look at. He seemed pleased with her sudden inability to speak and nodded at her, giving her a wordless signal that she was dismissed. As she walked away he couldn't help a small smile grace his face. She really was not that bad in appearance but her looks would not help her now. This woman-child had no idea what she was getting into. 


	5. V

Chapter Five: The Bed-time Story

Kagome had hoped, but to no avail, InuYasha had not returned and it had already been a week. Within her mind she kept wishing that this was all some sort of bad dream and that she would wake up to the hanyou's gruff morning greetings. But he never came and she never woke from the nightmare. She wasn't exactly sure why he hadn't come to rescue her. Wasn't he supposed to protect her? How was this helping? Nothing made sense anymore.

To add insult to injury, Sesshomaru seemed to enjoy making her miserable. He continually demanded, though it was always termed as a request, for her to do whatever he might wish. Fix my dinner, Kagome. Clean this imaginary speck of dirt from my obi, Kagome. Fetch some more firewood, Kagome. Don't go that way, Kagome. No, don't go that way either, Kagome. It was getting irritating! On top of his constant orders she had to see to both Rin and Shippo's comfort and well being as well as maintain the usual morale of her group.

That was much more difficult now. Sango and Miroku both were on her case all the time, it seemed. She could hear their voices now, in her mind, admonishing her before she ever even thought of responding in a snotty tone to Sesshomaru's never ending needs. They were so worried for her, and for themselves. Afraid that they would lose their friend; that fear had wedged a fear that she could never understand within Kagome's heart. She was not concerned for her own well being. Her twentieth-century morals told her that telling this chauvinistic pig where his place was would only be the beginning of her freedom. But her heart clenched when the image of Sango's worried eyes and Miroku's lowered gaze entered her mind. Their fear created a monster within Kagome that she was now running from.

It would only be a matter of time before she couldn't run anymore. She knew that. But she kept persisting. Wishing that she could turn back time and never be shoved into this scenario; she knew that wish would never be granted now. Her mind wandered to what her maid, Maeko, had told her of the differences between marriage and love. Kagome had thought it through diligently and had come to a conclusion: Maeko was right. However, Kagome could not lie to herself. She wanted both! She wanted marriage and love. Not one without the other!

A silent tear escaped her and trailed down her face. How could she ever hope for both now? Despite how much older he was than her, Sesshomaru would easily outlive her so she could not hope for his death to free her. His pride was far thicker than anyone she had ever met; he would never let her go of his own will. Worse of them all… he didn't seem to care how she felt or what her hopes and desires were, so long as his own were met was all that mattered. There would be no hope that he would allow her to have love if she were to find it.

That thought made her mind wander to InuYasha again. She had thought on him a great deal, also. InuYasha had done a great disrespect to her, it was true. But she had done equal disrespect to herself by ignoring it. She couldn't be angry with the boy. That was not his doing. Regardless how strange or annoying the situation seemed to be, she had to feel honored by Sesshomaru's sudden protection of her. Her heart, full of her childish crush on the hanyou boy, had ignored the obvious. Instead of allowing her to be hurt by the situation, as she would have expected, Sesshomaru had come in and given her something else to occupy her mind.

Perhaps he had done that on purpose. Looking up, she saw that he and the others had walked much father ahead of her and that he was making no motion to slow down for her to catch up. Perhaps she was giving him too much credit.

She sighed and lowered her gaze again, continuing to follow but not trying to race up. Her mind was kept from wandering again by a weight landing on her shoulder. "Kagome?" Shippo.

Her face lit up a little and she smiled at the kit. "Hey, Shippo. What are you doing way back here?" His face contorted in confusion.

"I could ask you the same thing, Kagome. You're really behind and kind of quiet. Are you okay?" Concern laced his voice and his face was inches from hers, eyes darting around to see if there was a physical problem with his mother-like figure. It warmed Kagome's heart to know that he cared so much.

Nodding her head and smiling more she laughed a little. "I'm fine, Shippo. Just thinking, that's all." He seemed to accept this and settled onto her shoulder, snuggling her hair. "Shippo… is it, well I know you never were involved in something like this but you had your parents, right? Is it supposed to be this way?"

The kit stilled and sighed a little. "I'm not really sure, Kagome. I know that my parents loved each other very much. Some people said they were almost violently in love; that their passion was so brilliant that anyone to look on them when they merely kissed in greeting would be blinded for life." He fidgeted a little and glanced up to where the others walked ahead, assuring that nobody was spying on their conversation. "Momma told me a story, though, and as I grow older I often wonder if it was more than just a bed time fairy tale. Could I tell it to you? Maybe you can tell me if it's just a story or if there was more to it?"

Kagome smiled and nodded a little, curiosity getting the better of her. This would be interesting, Shippo rarely shared his history. He didn't wait for anything and merely began chewing his bottom lip. "Let's see here. Momma always began it with: Once upon a time." Kagome giggled aloud at that and the kit gave her an odd look but continued. "Once upon a time there was a young kitsune girl. She was not as pretty as her four elder sisters and so, when her poor father had received a notice asking for her hand in marriage he had quickly agreed to the arrangement. The money would help the family and the girl would not die a maid, it was quite worth the bargain. The girl was heartbroken. She wanted to marry for love and knew that the son of the rich lord could not possibly make her happy like that. So, in the darkness of the night she packed a few belongings and fled. The girl had never been on her own before and so when she found herself lost in the deep woods she was frightened. The sounds and creatures of the night taunted her and her mind began to play tricks on her, sending her into a run. Running through the darkness she began to cry. Suddenly she tripped on a branch and fell to the ground in a heap. When she tried to stand she found that her ankle had been sprained. Now she was stranded, alone, and afraid. What could she do? Then, just as life seemed to be at its worst, a voice came through the darkness. The voice was smooth and strong, asking if she were all right. At first she was even more afraid, but then the owner of the voice stepped up next to her. Just as she raised her eyes to look a stream of moonlight lit the area and she saw his face, a handsome young kistune boy. He looked down at her with the most brilliant emerald eyes she had ever seen, and she found herself lost within them. Without question she allowed him to care for her wounds. He bandaged her ankle so delicately and then smiled at her, asking her name. She told him and then asked how she could ever repay him for his kindness. He merely smiled and said he would like a kiss. The girl was shocked but nodded her consent and so she received her first kiss from the mysterious stranger with the beautiful eyes. She slept there and he watched over her, protecting her until morning. When she woke he was gone and her father was calling her from a nearby distance. They would find her there and took her back home, to prepare her for her wedding. That evening she sat within her bedroom, crying for her lost chance at love. Her father came and guided her down the aisle to her groom. When she looked up, she inhaled sharply in surprise. There before her was the boy with green eyes."

Shippo smiled slightly. "Momma always ends it here saying that they married and lived happily ever after. I always wondered, though. You know, poppa had green eyes." He laughed a little and looked down at Kagome who had stopped walking, her eyes were closed and she was imagining the images of the story in her head.

"Kagome."

She jumped and Shippo turned a startled gaze towards the speaker. Kagome looked up and smiled slightly. "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru?"

"You're getting behind. Why did you stop?"

The miko looked up, gazing up at him with a furrowed brow. She hadn't known that she had stopped. Looking past him she saw that the others were far beyond them by now, waiting for them to catch up. Closing her eyes for a moment she took a deep breath and then looked back into Sesshomaru's amber gaze. Her breath caught in her throat. Something was different. What was that emotion in his face, so well hidden but so obviously there?

"Well?" He persisted, raising a delicate eyebrow at her odd behavior.

She swallowed and shook her head slightly, smiling at him more. "Nothing is wrong, I was merely caught up in the story Shippo was telling me." He nodded and turned to walk back to the others but stopped when her voice came to him again. "I apologize for inconveniencing you, Lord Sesshomaru. It won't happen again."

He didn't turn to her and she wasn't sure what his reaction was, he merely nodded slightly and then began to walk. She sighed a little and then nodded resolutely, following his lead. Shippo's mother's story had given her hope. Perhaps the little kit did not understand the moral behind the bed time tale but Kagome, especially now, was beginning to understand.

Maybe I can find love my own way. 


	6. VI

Chapter Six: A Night to Remember

"Oh Kagome! You look so pretty!" Sango gushed at her friend while a little blush crept onto her face. Her friend turned her gaze to her in the mirror and smiled slightly. She hadn't quite been herself since they came to the western palace. Kagome had become quieter, more reserved, and all together docile. The demon slayer frowned and then sat next to Kagome, determined to get answers. "Okay, girl, what's going on? Are you not feeling well or something?"

Kagome turned her lightly painted face to look at her friend with a stony expression. "What do you mean, Sango?"

The other woman's eyes went wide and she practically growled. "What! How can you ask me that? What do I mean? Kagome! What is wrong with you?"

The miko frowned slightly and shook her head lightly. "Nothing is wrong with me, Sango. I just don't want to upset anybody tonight."

Before Sango could react a knock was heard and then Jaken entered the room without waiting for a response. "Lord Sesshomaru demands your presence at once." He turned and began waddling down the hall, muttering about how human females take too long to dress and why they were even caring for her. Kagome stood, smiled at Sango tightly, and then followed after him.

"Wish me luck." Was the last thing Sango heard before she was left alone in the room.

Kagome sat next to Sesshomaru and looked around at the guests. Youkai, they were all youkai. Most were talking amongst themselves; a few were looking at her unnervingly. Nobody was eating yet. It was a little strange to be sitting here, hot food waiting for your watering mouth. She turned her gaze up to Sesshomaru, who appeared to be looking at nothing. Was he daydreaming? He didn't seem to be that kind of person.

She coughed, lightly covering her mouth with her hand in what she hoped was a lady-like cover up for the situation, and his eyes flicked over to her. Lowering her hand back into her lap she smiled slightly and then widened her eyes slightly as if to question if they were going to eat sometime this century. He did not respond, looking away from her and then down at his food with a bored expression.

Amazingly he lifted his chopsticks and took a bite, promptly swallowing the food and then setting the utensils aside again to continue ignoring his meal. Several relieved sighs came from around the table and conversations bloomed immediately. Kagome blushed slightly when a few of the guests gave her approving glances. She had done something right, it seemed. She could only hope that Sesshomaru would not be angry with her.

As she bent down to take her first bite a voice came to her, stopping her from tasting the first morsel. Her stomach groaned in irritation. "Lady Kagome? Is that your name, my dear?" A large male boar youkai asked, seated a few seats down and across the table from where Kagome sat. She set her chopsticks down, slightly pouting at the loss of her food, and then raised a smile up at the man, nodding.

"Yes sir."

The boar nodded slowly, his gaze turning to Sesshomaru before he spoke again. "A shame, isn't it, Lord Sesshomaru? I believe we all feel a pang of regret at the actions of your family. Such a disgrace, that hanyou brother of yours; to think he'd take after your father and further the dishonor, tsk, tsk…" Several youkai at the table nodded and sounded their agreement. It seemed that the tainted honor of Sesshomaru's family was well known.

Kagome was angry; they really shouldn't be talking about InuYasha that way. They didn't even know him! She lifted her head sharply, jaw firm and eyes blazing when she stiffened and lowered herself a little. Sesshomaru was enraged. His body hadn't moved but his eyes and the slight baring of his fangs were a sure sign that now was not the time to do anything to defend InuYasha. He would probably kill them all, her included!

Something within her begged her to do something. This would not end well if she didn't at least say some remark. Maybe to get their minds off the subject, anything! Her brow furrowed and as she heard a low growl emanating from Sesshomaru a light flashed in her mind. Lifting her gaze to the boar youkai once more she smiled sweetly and spoke in a confident but gentle voice. "Certainly, the misdeeds of his kin cannot be placed entirely on the shoulders of Lord Sesshomaru."

This seemed to amuse the guests and a serpent youkai four seats down from her laughed a little before asking. "I'm sure you're going to tell us why not, human!" They all laughed with him at that, waiting for her self righteous speech to come oozing out. Sesshomaru glared at her and she could feel his gaze seep through her faster than any acid could.

She shook her head lightly and lifted her chopsticks, readying her bite. "Oh I am certain that a mere human could never see the honor and pride that Lord Sesshomaru displays before any of your fine ladies and gentlemen could. Why should I tell you that which you already know?" She smirked a little and took a sideways glance at Sesshomaru before placing her food into her mouth, signaling that she was finished talking.

He seemed a little surprised but pleased at her response. She hadn't made a fool of him and she hadn't acted rude. For some reason, Kagome was happy that she had helped assuage the situation. The laughter had died down and several of the guests were merely watching her. Then a crane youkai from across the table questioned out what was on everyone's mind. "Lord Sesshomaru are you entirely certain this female is human?"

Sesshomaru spoke, for the first time that evening, causing the table to go eerily silent. "Oh yes, I am most certain that the woman is human, unfortunately her persistent mouth never ceases to remind me." The laughter roared back to life on the table and Kagome felt her stomach become lead, pulling her down. She set her chopsticks down across the top of the plate and stood slowly, walking out of the room without another word, not caring how rude it would be.

"Awww… Lord Sesshomaru! I think you have hurt her feelings!" Another wave of laughter rose from the room and Kagome felt a clenching feeling in her throat before a little sob escaped her. Balling her hands into fists she smashed them against the wall of the hallway just outside of the dining room.

Damn him. Damn them all! She turned and raced back to her room, unable to take any more and uncertain why she even cared. It wasn't like she loved any of them; she didn't even call them friends. She was merely here as a decoration, a piece of property. When she thrust open the door to her room she was grateful for the fact that it was empty. No company was wanted tonight.

Throwing herself onto her bed she felt the first few teardrops fall and her chest heaved heavily. How could she have believed that she could be happy here? 


	7. VII

Chapter Seven: The Monster Arrives

A firm pain forced its way around Kagome's right forearm and her body was jerked into awareness as she felt the air whip around her form before she was crushed against the stone wall of her room. Something pushed and the air from her lungs fled, leaving a burning sensation to swell within her chest, then a vibration occurred from the pushing object straining her ribs and making her cry out.

"Was that little display of defiance amusing to you, wench?" The voice as harsh and it burned hot against Kagome's neck as she whimpered again from the aching pain within her body. He released her, stepping away slightly, and she slid to the floor, air rushing into her lungs in a painful wheeze. "Do you realize what I went through after you left dinner?"

Kagome opened her eyes slightly, the painful salt of her tears blurring her vision before she blinked it away to focus on the legs of Sesshomaru. "What do you mean?" She asked, unsure what he was talking about. She was the one who had been abused! Now he was physically hurting her as well! Her heart cried in agony at the idea of an abusive husband. There was no judicial system to save her in this time.

"Stand up, woman!" He roared and she flinched, but stood shakily and braced against the wall. "If your ignorant human mind cannot comprehend I suppose I will have to waste my breath in explaining. After your emotional outburst and blatant display of disrespect I had to spend the entire evening with those fools, talking!"

Her mind reeled. She clenched her teeth together audibly and turned wide eyes on him, anger overcoming pain. "You asshole! You came here in the middle of the night, waking me from my sleep and abusing me just to throw a fit about having to be social to your own guests!" Her hand flew out before she could stop it, the resounding smack of his flesh against hers echoed through the room and into the silence of the night.

Sesshomaru stood there, glaring down at her angrily. "No wonder my half-brother chose a dead woman over you." He turned and left without another word, leaving the broken woman behind.

Kagome felt something inside of her scream. She slumped back to the floor, sobbing again. What was wrong with this man? What did he mean about InuYasha choosing a dead woman over her? Had she really been wrong in her reaction? Her body shook hard and she felt the beginnings of foggy insanity creeping into her mind. There was no way she could stay here with this man!

Rushing around the room she gathered her things into her yellowed backpack and changing back into her regular clothes. Suddenly, she stopped, sobs altering into a twisted form of laughter. Shaking her head she threw the backpack onto the bed and ran from the room. There was no point in trying to keep her life as it was now.

There was no turning back.

Sesshomaru entered his chambers, rage and anger rolling off his body. That stupid woman had ended up making him into a fool anyway. There was no way he would have gone after her, that would have been undignified. And there was no chance of saving face once she was gone unless he gave up his own pride and settled into the idle chatter that his guests seemed to enjoy. If he hadn't then he would surely have been the topic of conversation instead!

His rational side supposed that he really didn't have to be so physical with her but his instinctual side reasoned that she had to be taught her place. It wasn't like he had injured her. Just shook her up a bit, which was normal in youkai relationships. The logical side had to pop up and point out the obvious: the girl wasn't youkai and they weren't really in a relationship.

It was all a show. A show that, up until she had run from the room, she had been playing out quite appropriately; he had been pleased with her behavior. She had been docile, controlled, and polite the entire time. Until her human pride had to step in and ruin it. Sesshomaru fought the urge to run back to the room and demand her to understand again, just so that it wouldn't happen another time.

He knew she would never really comprehend, though. She was, loathe to admit, very similar to him in attitude. Nobody told her what to do and nobody spoke down to her. And that sparkle in her sapphire eyes told him that she was a determined individual, nobody would convince her to see their way. It was like beating your head against a brick wall. Nobody could win.

A sound rushing past his door stopped his thoughts and he went to see what it was. Nobody should be out at this time; it was well after three in the morning! Silently a voice inside him that he chose to ignore tried to remind him that he had woken up a particular female this early. He stepped out of the room, looking down the hall and then turning to sniff the air lightly. Mostly a salty smell mixed with the slightly coppery tone of blood and lilac. The woman, she was running.

Instinct took over and he stalked down the hall, following her obvious signs and tracking her trail easily. She belonged to him now, like it or not, and she would not dishonor him more by running from him. 


	8. VIII

Chapter Eight: Brother, Dearest

Kagome felt her mind slipping beyond control as a hazy sort of comfort eased its way over her troubled thoughts. None of it mattered anymore. They had all done just fine without her before, now would be no different. She shoved aside some thorny bushes along the edge of the wooded area surrounding Sesshomaru's home and ran into the depths of the forest.

Cuts laced across her skin, blood trickling out in tiny rivulets to mar her once pristine flesh. Her clothes ripped and snagged on branches, but still she continued to run. The direction didn't matter, instinct gave her the drive and adrenaline gave her the power. Nothing would stop her now.

A sound filled her mind and she could hear the raging thunder of the ocean, rushing to meet a cliff-side. Beautiful! The perfect escape, it would be so easy and so clean. Then there would be no more problems. No one expecting her to be there and be strong through the pain of it all, no more endurance, just she and the water. An evil smile crept onto her face as she picked up her pace and ran faster, it couldn't be too far now!

Just as suddenly as she had heard it she saw it, the edge of forever. Her jump to abysmal peace, the cliff was before her just a mere five feet ahead. Before she could talk herself out of it she pushed her body beyond its limit, straining against the burning sensation in her legs and shoving herself over the earth and into the sky. Her body flew up, flipping end over end and her hair whipped quickly into her tear covered face, sticking to it crudely and blocking her vision of her demise.

A rushing sound, wind passing faster by her ears, and then a moment of pain before nothing; the world went black. Her body pushed into the water forcefully, sending a huge splash of the crystal fluid up before crashing down into its depths. It floated for a few moments, waving with the current before rising to the surface to dangle helplessly.

That is where he found her, the bloodied pink hue of her schoolgirl uniform contrasting sharply against the moistened mass of raven hair piled upon her head. Arms and legs flowing to and fro, as if in some mystical dance, but not moving of their own accord; inside he screamed her name and silently hoped for her to pop up and gasp for breath, then he was moving towards her and screaming aloud in pain, drawing her body roughly up to his chest.

"Kagome! Kagome, no! Please don't do this, Kagome!" Something he had never really experienced happened, he cried. Hot tears erupted from his eyes, blurring his vision and dulling his senses. Then he heard movement in the waves near him and turned abruptly, holding the dead girl closer. "What have you done to her!"

Sesshomaru blinked, had he done something? She was dead, it was obvious. Somewhere in him he felt a pang of regret, for what he wasn't sure. "The woman is dead."

InuYasha's heart clenched and he growled low. "Yes. She's dead. She killed herself! How could you have done this?" His voice was deep and scratchy, crying even in speech. The brothers faced each other silently for a few moments.

Then the elder was holding out his hand, reaching for the woman-child within the younger's grasp. "Give her to me."

The hanyou's eyes went wide with rage. "Give her to you? No! You already did enough!"

Sesshomaru growled deeply and his voice rose, pink tinge edging on his vision. "She belongs to me!"

InuYasha glared at him and then rolled his eyes. He moved over to his half-brother, Kagome in tow. "You idiot, she doesn't belong to anyone. You can take her if you can save her but you will never have her. She'll defy you at every move. Run from you at every chance. Fight you at every moment. You'll sleep with one eye open for the rest of your life, because eventually you'll learn the hard way. The truth about Kagome, she never lets you live. She sucks the life from you slowly, taking it out in payments of smiles and heartfelt laughter that seems so innocent at first but your mind begins to lose the battle and eventually she wins. It will overpower you, her purity, until there is nothing left but a hollowed out version of the man you were because every night and every day you will fear. You will fear that she will be gone."

The corpse was shoved into the elder youkai's grasp and then the hanyou was gone, running wildly through the forest with an inner pain that was thick with grief. Sesshomaru turned his golden gaze down to the girl and felt a little confusion at her expression. She seemed so peaceful, smiling in a very unusual way. But that smile would be gone soon, she would be angry with him for taking away her escape.

He shrugged that off, she did not frighten him in the least, let her be angry. Walking out of the water and to the shoreline he set her battered body down, only then assessing the damage to her person. She must have run far beyond her limitations, there was not an unmarked point on her flesh. He stood, turning to stare at the dusk filled sky before reaching down slowly to rest his hand on his heirloom.

Tenseiga, it did not respond. His eyes traveled back to the woman's face and he saw nothing, no demons from the depths of hell there to drag her down. Squatting down next to her he bent his head slightly to her gaping mouth, listening for a hint that she could possibly be alive still. Only the rush of the sea met his ears.

Sesshomaru couldn't understand, how could he not heal this woman? He had done this before on both Rin and Jaken, it should work. She couldn't have been dead that long; her body hadn't even set into rigamortis yet. Lifting her fragile hand into his he turned it slightly, flexing the digits to assure that it really was still fresh. No resistance.

His eyes continued to stare at her hand. It was so small, so delicate and it contrasted so deeply with his own strong and dangerous one. A woman's hand; his mind did something it rarely did and wandered to a time when his father was speaking to him about InuYasha's mother. At the time he had not cared to think on what he was being told, merely listened out of respect.

"My son, someday you will understand one undeniable fact of all life: women, no matter their species and no matter their strengths, need a protector. When you look at a woman and see that she is more than a dutiful being there to serve you, but that you are truly there to serve her, that is when you will know the power beneath their fragile bodies. A woman can give you the strength to go beyond anything possible." His father had said this slowly, his voice deep and thick with emotion. It was obvious that he had never felt this for Sesshomaru's own mother, but still expected his son to understand.

He hadn't. He still didn't quite get it. But here and now, holding this dead human female's hand within his own immortal grasp he saw some truth behind his father's words. Women required protection, even from themselves and even from their husbands. He frowned slightly, had he really just called himself her husband?

With a resigned sigh he lowered his gaze and released her hand to fall into the gritty sand below. Yes, he supposed he was her husband, if by duty alone.

A pulse of warmth ran through him. No, not an emotional epiphany; his sword was calling to him; beckoning him that time was running short. He stood, swiftly pulling the blade out of its scabbard to stare down at the tiny demons surrounding Kagome's body. With a loud roar he turned and slashed down upon them, ripping them to shreds.

Kagome's chest began to move and she inhaled with a loud wheezing sound before coughing heavily and lifting up to roll over and spit the water that had entered her lungs onto the earth. Between chokes and heavily labored breaths she looked up to see Sesshomaru, still in his night pants and facing away from her, crouched low to the ground with Tenseiga in his grasp pointed towards the sand. The sun began to rise and it lit him up, giving him a glow that made him seem even more beautiful.

He stood and walked to her, sheathing his sword and then holding out his hand for her to take. She stared at it for a few moments, unsure what was going on. "Sesshomaru?" His eyes darted down to her face and she gasped to see them molten with emotions that she could not express. He gestured out with his hand again, thrusting it towards her lightly, and she blinked before letting her own hand lay into his.

Sesshomaru lifted her up effortlessly and she fell into his chest with a slight squeak of surprise. He held her hand more firmly and looked down at her, waiting until her eyes rose to meet his before he spoke. "Kagome. You cannot leave me."

A shiver rolled it's way up the girl's spine and settled it's way into her abdomen, causing her legs to shake uneasily as he began to walk, dragging her confused form behind him. 


	9. IX

Chapter Nine: Not All Monster's Eyes are Red

Kagome sat in her room, staring blindly at the wall. She wasn't sure if she should be angry at Sesshomaru or kiss him in gratitude. It had taken the journey back to the palace to figure out exactly what had occurred. Surprisingly she wasn't crying about it, just in shock. She couldn't comprehend how she had reached that point.

"I killed myself." Her breathless whisper met her audience and both Miroku and Sango gasped, ready to fire questions. She beat them to it with a reply and an answer. "I don't know why."

"Kagome, that makes no sense! How can you not know?" Sango asked, her lip already trembling as it sunk in that her friend had died while they had been sleeping blissfully in their rooms.

Kagome shook her head violently, covering her ears with her hands and closing her eyes. "Don't yell at me like that! I...I… I'm so tired!" Tears began streaming down her face slowly. Her body was trembling and she couldn't keep herself from rocking back and forth slightly. "It's not fair! No… no… NO! I can't do this again!" Her right hand balled into a fist and she began to beat it against her head lightly.

Miroku was the first to react, reaching out and grasping her wrist in his, pulling slightly. The girl crumbled like a butter cookie and fell into him. He turned his gaze up to Sango, questioning, but she merely shook her head. "I've never seen a reaction like this." Her voice was quiet and whispering and she reached out to run her hand over Kagome's hair.

The monk was confused, what had happened to her? "Kagome, what's going on?" He sounded as if he were speaking to a child, consoling but questioning in one breath. The girl clung to him tighter, whimpering and shaking even more.

Sango placed her hand on Kagome's forehead and inhaled sharply. "She's burning up! We have to get her into bed." It was the last thing Kagome heard before her world went dark and she succumbed to sleep.

The woman was ill. Deathly ill, according to the monk; from the report she was not so badly ill physically as she was mentally. This would not do.

Sesshomaru pursed his lips and glared down the row of books in his library. There had to be something in here that could give him some clue as to what he could do. It was his duty to assure that she remain healthy, including her sanity, and he would be damned if he would allow a lack of information on humans to keep him from doing just that.

His fingers traced over the bindings of the books before him, none really held anything about humans. They were useless. So prized before but now just crusted pages of parchment between rotting ties. A waste of space and time; that's what everything seemed to become now.

A slight frown marred his face as his mind recapped over what had happened that morning. Particularly, what his half-brother had said to him. By accepting Kagome as his … wife… was he truly setting himself up for inevitable doom? Could the hanyou really know what he was talking about?

He had to admit, grudgingly, that between the two of them his brother was the more socially adept and the more likely to know anything in regards to females, species aside. Sesshomaru had never bothered to even look at women or even thought much about taking a mate. He always figured that he would get around to it someday and she would just be there waiting for him.

Apparently, he was learning, that was not how things worked.

The female, regardless of how much you may give her and how often you may let her alone, will always want for more from you, always ask for your time and your patience, your words and affections; but never ask outright, no! You have to see it without hearing her say it and if you do not, well heaven forbid you do not because there was no going back afterwards. Hell would rush to meet you and, like the fool you are, would you welcome it? Of course! For the sake of a woman, definitely!

Sesshomaru fought the urge to groan. Hindsight always seemed to mock him in every situation. Why should this be any different? Placing a hand on his forehead and rubbing at his temples with his fingertips he felt a bit of the stress ease away.

He should have just let her stay dead. Burying her corpse in the family plots would have been much easier than all this annoyance. With that thought he turned, once more, to look at Jaken and request some sort of hard liquor to drink along with any ideas on where he could find assistance in healing the human female. As last time, the toad bowed lowly, said he would obtain the drink but stated that nobody within the walls of the castle knew such knowledge. Before the retainer left he suggested that Sesshomaru try asking a human.

The youkai lord growled lowly and lowered his gaze towards the retreating back of his retainer. He normally wouldn't have allowed comments like that but he had to admit that the toad was probably right. A human would know best. But, which human if not the monk and the slayer; there was only one human left that Sesshomaru associated with.

Sesshomaru wasn't sure how she had known; she had merely smiled up from her bouquet at him and then followed without a word. Rin, she was his last resort, as stupid as it sounded.

He led her through the castle grounds, down the many corridors to the room which held Kagome. Within the room there was silence, she was probably asleep. Reaching out he went to open the door but was stopped by a hand on his, he looked down to see Rin shaking her head slowly in a disapproving manner.

"Rin will sit here and wait for Kagome to wake up. Rin does not like it when people come to wake her up so maybe Kagome does not either. Rin will be okay here by herself, Lord Sesshomaru. Thank you for showing Rin the way!"

And that was that, he left her there to do whatever it was that she seemed to know she needed to do and he wandered the halls aimlessly, unsure what to do with himself anymore.

When a scuffling sound could be heard and a slight cough came from beyond the doorway at her back, Rin smiled slightly and then tapped on the door lightly. The sounds stilled but no voice rang out. "Kagome! Rin is here! Can Rin come in, please?"

Still no sounds, as if the room were empty. Rin shook her head and opened the door, entering the room slowly and closing the door gently behind her. Turning, she smiled up at the darkened figure in the corner of the room. It was very dim in here; hardly any light was coming in from the window.

At a glance towards the window it was obvious why. Somebody, probably Kagome, had placed a slightly tattered cloth over the window to obscure the light. Rin grew a little nervous and bit her lip slightly but threw her head up in determination and began walking towards the corner that the miko was in.

"Kagome? Are you all right?" Her voice sounded tiny and dry in the room, it felt like she was talking to herself.

A shift, Kagome moved suddenly towards her, frightening Rin a little and causing her to jump slightly. Rin shakily held out her hand towards the woman and ran it over her cheek, feeling the smooth skin beneath her fingertips and the moist trails of her tears. "It's okay, Kagome. You died. Rin died, too, but its okay see! Rin is here for you and Lord Sesshomaru, too!"

The woman fell into her, shaking and trembling, crying heavily. Rin wrapped her tiny arms around Kagome as good as she could and sat, holding her until she slept. 


	10. X

Chapter Ten: The Revelations of a Husband-to-be

Kagome woke to the brightness of morning shining through her window. Somehow she had ended up in her bed, tucked in neatly and her room had been cleaned up for her. The last thing she remembered was running from Sesshomaru.

Sitting up, she had to brace herself against the spinning of the world. She turned and pushed herself up to dress, noticing that she was still wearing her uniform but that it was horribly torn to shreds and blood stained. What had happened?

Suddenly the door opened and Kagome jumped in surprise before the intruder announced themselves with a happy giggle and a gleeful cry of: "Kagome! Rin brought breakfast! Lord Sesshomaru didn't say no so Rin can eat with you here instead of the dining room!"

A tray, sure enough, was wobbling uncertainly from the child's arms as she lowered down to sit and laid the tray on the floor. Kagome smiled and sat next to her, taking her plate and looking at her food. Her mind told her that food was the last thing she wanted but her stomach groaned horribly at the idea of going without again.

Rin laughed and pointed her chopsticks at Kagome. "Your tummy makes funny sounds!" Kagome smiled slightly in embarrassment and took a bite to eat. The child was staring at her intently. "Kagome?"

She turned to look at the girl, questioning. Rin's brown eyes widened slightly in realization and then she nodded, as if they had discussed something secret between them. "All right. Rin was like that, too. It's very weird… dying." She then lowered her head solemnly before letting out a little sigh and going back to eating.

Kagome's mind whirled. Dying? What was this… a flash in her mind, an image of the stars twinkling innocently beyond the craggy edges of an ocean cliff-side. She shook her head slightly and frowned, taking another bite and chewing it for a moment in contemplation. What was that?

Before she could think too long on it Rin had stood, taking her hand in hers and then dragging her up and down the halls. "Rin wants to play! Will you pick flowers with Rin, Kagome?" She nodded to the child and smiled, at least she could make someone happy.

Another flash, then the sound of Sango's worried voice filled her head. "Kagome, that makes no sense!" The voice echoed within her mind, causing a repeating pang within her heart. When had that happened?

Then a flower was shoved under her nose, causing her face to scrunch before she let out a heavy sneeze. Wiping at the fuzzy feeling in her sinuses she opened an eye to see Rin's sparkling eyes gazing up at her, a huge grin on the child's face. "This is Rin's favorite flower!"

Sesshomaru stood before his mirror, looking at himself with a bored expression. He was pondering how it was that every adult in the house had been unable to deal with the recent change in Kagome but Rin had seemed to completely understand. Perhaps it had to do with an effect Tenseiga had on humans.

Maybe he should ask that old sword smith about it, what was that worthless man's name again? With a shake of his head he shoved it aside, unimportant. However, the idea of questioning the old coot was not something to be ignored. It could bring out new information on this new situation.

He mentally made a note to himself to take time to chase down the man and find out just what his heirloom did to the minds of humans. Then a gentle knock was heard at his door and he sighed, closing his eyes slightly before putting his solid face on and muttering a stony "enter"; he really didn't want any company right now.

Surprisingly, it was Kagome who entered the room. She was already dressed for dinner; they had to have another one with the remaining guests who still straggled along. He watched her from the reflection in the mirror as she walked up to him and then stood there, silently waiting next to him.

Her face seemed different. She looked half aware and altogether depressing. "Woman." She jumped slightly, much to his amusement, and then turned slightly widened eyes to look at him. "You look old. Smile."

Sapphire eyes blinked in confusion before what he said sunk into her. Within her mind there was a war going on. Her normal self said that he was insinuating that she looked young and vibrant when she smiled, therefore she looked pretty. It was a compliment! The cynical side, which seemed to be taking a lot of time on the soapbox lately, said that he was just trying to make himself look better by covering up that she was miserable around his guests. Why should she please this abusive man?

Her body shivered slightly and she closed her eyes, as if in pain. He watched her reaction, confused by it. What was wrong with this woman? Could she truly be this badly damaged? "Woman, are you all right?" Barely a whisper from him, and oddly gentle, he expected her to light up and smile at the possibility of his caring for her.

She didn't move. His hand reached out to touch her, shake her into awareness, and she flinched and cowered away from him. Inwardly he felt the beginnings of shame creep into his mind. He had just begun to respect the fact that they were now, by law, man and wife. Now she was afraid of him.

How could they show face before public like this? Was he really as shameful as his father and brother seemed to have been? To damage the trust of their women so badly that the world thinks you a completely heartless pig? He shook his head slightly, chasing the thoughts away.

No. He would not blame himself. He was not the one who allowed themselves to get used. She had done that. He had merely saved the family name by taking her on as a responsibility; she should be honored by that consideration. He could have simply killed her.

Why hadn't he just killed her? He already knew the answer: because it would have been the dishonorable thing to do. The coward's answer to a difficult situation; Sesshomaru was no coward.

Looking back at her face, partially hidden beneath her arm in a protective stance, painted in that fake way that women did to look colorful, he couldn't help but wonder what was so honorable about this. Then and there Lord Sesshomaru came to a decision: He would no longer run from the truth.

Kagome was his wife and hell would freeze over before she became someone else's.

Reaching out he grasped her jaw in his hand and turned her to face him, looking into her shivering eyes. He could feel the trembling of her body and smell the fear in her scent. He would have to teach her her place. What would be the best way? How could he do that without damaging her trust more?

Then it hit him, so simple and so easy. It would not cost him anything. Surely, it could not be wrong for him to indulge her a little, just to get her going in the right direction.

Besides… nobody was looking.

The world seemed in slow motion to Kagome as she watched him lower his head down to her and press his warm lips to hers. A slight sob escaped her, uncontrolled, and he pushed in towards her to silence it with his mouth.

Her mind shorted out, unable to comprehend what was happening and so her body took charge and went with the most obvious route it could. Tracing her fingers along the muscles in his arms she leaned into him and her eyes fluttered closed as she gave in to the kiss.

Sesshomaru pulled away before things got out of hand and looked down at her, seeing her there with her eyes still closed and lips still parted. "Kagome, come to dinner when you are ready." Then he was gone and she was alone, standing there wondering just what he was thinking.

Little did she know that he was having a small victory dance within his mind for his wonderful start at repairing her faith in him. He would not have a wife who feared him. She knew where she belonged in his world and hopefully… she would accept that. 


	11. XI

Chapter Eleven: Screaming Mute, Running Blind

It had taken some getting used to but after a slightly confusing explanation from Rin most of the adults understood that Kagome would not be talking anytime soon. Apparently, from what the child had told them, when you die you kind of return to infancy but don't. So when you are brought back you simply don't speak. She explained that it wasn't that you couldn't speak just that you didn't want to.

Everyone nodded their heads as if they understood this, but at the time it had made little sense to them. Now, sixteen days after the incident, they were beginning to get some clue as to what the child meant. Kagome seemed to be warming up a little, but not much. She had her favorites, Shippo seemed to get the most affection and Rin the most time, but all together she kept to herself.

Her constant flinching at any movement made by Sesshomaru, even away from her person, was not unnoticed either. Kagome behaved as if she had an ever tightening coil within her and she would not be released from this spell until it sprung. That had started a round of questions from both Sango and Miroku.

When had Rin come from her stupor? Had she just begun talking immediately? If so, why? Who was it she spoke to first?

Not surprising, nobody knew the answers to any of those. Sesshomaru was not the type to keep such things locked to memory. He barely recalled resurrecting the child at all, let alone her reactions. All anyone knew was that Rin had died after being attacked by wolves, then Sesshomaru had revived her and she had followed him since.

"Out of curiosity, Lord Sesshomaru, why did you allow Rin to follow you?" Miroku asked, a smile forming on his lips expecting the youkai lord to become offended or angry and try to protect his feelings for the child.

Sesshomaru, whose face was buried in a rather large book, did not look up and simply replied: "I did nothing to provoke her; she merely was too stupid to go away." Sango scoffed in offense at this but Rin seemed oblivious and even odder Kagome outright laughed at his response.

They all, even the stoic lord, looked at her expecting her to explode any moment. It would certainly suit her strange behavior with a fitting end. Sesshomaru growled slightly and went back to his reading; these humans were truly a nuisance.

A sound broke the uncomfortable silence. Humming, it was Kagome's voice. She was humming a little tune while she focused on her little sewing project she had begun earlier that week. A doll for Rin, they all guessed, as the clothes were rather small and odd in shape for any child to wear.

Sesshomaru was sick of it. He stood; slamming the book closed, and marched out of the room to find some peace. The others in the room laughed at his rather childish reaction but stopped when they noticed that Kagome had stilled and was looking out the door where he had gone with a sad expression.

Despite her physical fear of him, things seemed to be going in strangely positive direction for the pair. Every night she would come to his study, where he usually had his night cap. None of them knew what they did in there; it couldn't be talk as the girl was resolutely mute for the time being. So it was up in the air as to what happened between the miko and the youkai lord.

All anyone knew was that there was a modicum of respect for the girl on his part and a subtle hint of care for him from her. It was both very disconcerting and quite promising at the same time.

This book was useless! He threw it down onto his desk and paced the open space within his study to ease his frustration. Kagome had refused to speak for over two weeks now.

Not that he missed her mindless chatter, he would be happy if she remained mute forever! The problem was, as head wife she had duties to perform. Duties a mute could not attend to.

He threw himself into his chair, causing it to lean back slightly while he braced his feet on the desk and thought about the situation. It would seem that, before he could train her to care for the household he would have to find some way to get her to talk.

She had come to his study every night, which he found strange but comforting to know that she could at least be in his presence alone. That certainly gave a good image to their partnership. However, he would be most pleased if he could give the duties of wife over to her.

To be totally honest it would give him something that he found lacking in his life, free time. Not that he had any idea what he would do with such a luxury.

Without wasting another moment thinking about it he decided that today would be the day he would go to find the old sword-smith and see if he could find his answers there. Perhaps the crazy man could find the appropriate response to save his meaningless existence once again. Absently he remembered that it had been Kagome who had essentially saved the man the last time, not the man's response.

He entered the library once more to look at the odd group, which mostly consisted of humans much to his chagrin, and spoke clearly. "I am leaving." Kagome's sharp inhalation drew his attention to her and he watched as she fidgeted and gave him an odd, pleading look. He stared down at her and raised an eyebrow delicately. "If you wish to go with me, speak now."

Everyone was completely silent now, watching Kagome intently. Her face scrunched up, clearly showing discomfort at the situation. She shook her head violently and gave him a pointed look while pointing down, firmly. Sesshomaru watched her actions with mild amusement; it was apparent that she wanted to say something but was unable to do so.

Rin saved her by translating. "Lord Sesshomaru! Kagome does not want you to go."

"What?" Sango's confused question came out before she could stop herself and she covered her mouth with her hand as her face flushed in embarrassment. She couldn't believe that her friend, who seemed so afraid of the demon lord, wanted him to stay with her.

Kagome had lowered her head and her bangs hung low over her eyes to hide her face from view. Her body was slumped slightly and she looked defeated and sad. Sesshomaru inwardly groaned, there she went again being all depressing. "I suppose you may go with. The matter has to do with you, anyway; but I will not have anyone slowing me down. If you are not ready within the hour then I will have left without you."

He had said this as if he were allowing everyone in the room to go but it was quite plain to the audience that only Kagome had been given the invitation to accompany him. They were all equally surprised when Kagome looked up at Sesshomaru with a small smile and nodded firmly before walking out of the room quickly.

InuYasha lay in a tree, counting leaves out of sheer boredom, when a startled cry entered his ears. Someone was in trouble. His ears twitched about his head, turning to try and find the source of the sound.

Fortunately for him he would not have to wait to find out, the source ran through the bush on the opposite side of the clearing, heading towards him. It was Totosai! He was riding like a mad man too!

Well, that wasn't that far fetched. He was a mad man, after all. InuYasha grinned and jumped down, happy for the slight distraction from his boring day. Perhaps the man would be willing to talk for a while or share a meal tonight?

When the smithy's eyes landed on the boy, though, he looked frightened. "You! Are you after me, too?" The gritty wail came from the skinny man and InuYasha gave him a confused expression.

"Somebody after you again, old man?"

"Of course! That brother of yours! I caught wind from Myouga that he was on his way after me!"

"Sesshomaru? Why would he be after you? He already had a sword made. Did you do something?" InuYasha reached out with that last question and grasped the man as he ran by, pulling him off his steed by the collar of his clothes.

The wide eyed man looked back from where he came for a moment before he began to quiver and scream. "Let me go, you idiot! Get yourself killed, fine by me, but don't use me as your shield!"

InuYasha glared at the man and reared back a fist ready to strike the man over the head. He paused, fist still in the air, because at that moment his brother came through the trees, running along the forest floor. It looked like he was carrying something behind him.

"InuYasha, sit!"

His body plummeted to the earth, creating a large hole and tossing up dirt around him. Kagome? Surprisingly, the magic didn't hold him very long this time and he was up in an instant and running towards the girl who had just stepped off his brother's back. He pulled her into a crushing hug, startling her.

She was here! Alive and well! He wanted to tell her how sorry he was for hurting her and how sorry he was for giving her to Sesshomaru, not once but twice, and how he had missed her so much. But he never got the chance. As his mind raced his brother stood to the side, fuming.

"You won't speak for over two weeks and suddenly you decide to say something just for this bastard hanyou!" Sesshomaru growled and ripped Kagome from the boy's grasp, pulling her to him so that he could look at her in the face while he yelled. "Was that what you were waiting for! Kagome!" He shook her slightly and she looked up at him with a confused face for a moment before her eyes widened in realization.

She started laughing. He glared at her and shook her again, a little less forcefully. "What is so funny?" She gasped, fighting against her laughter and trying to speak or even breathe but finding it very hard to do.

"Yo..y..y..you're… you're jealous, Sesshomaru!" He stopped still, staring down at her face lined with mirth and shoved her away from him. She lost balance and fell over into InuYasha who held her up.

Turning from her he glared down at the cowering sword-smith who had remained silent. "Despite how the main issue for my seeking you has been resolved, I would still demand that you answer my questions. What is it that Tenseiga does to the human mind? I have revived two humans thus far only to have them suffer from the same symptoms. Lack of memory and speech seem to be the most common. Is this a side effect for the species?"

The man looked up at him and shook his head slightly. "No. That is just part of being human, Sesshomaru! Something you wouldn't understand! Humans have feelings that are far too complex, sometimes even for themselves. If a human dies and is revived by Tenseiga then their mind will have a conflict; simply put, the human mind can't take a lot of the stress that such an idea would put on them. What would make it worse is if the human in question has had traumatic experiences right before the revival. Perhaps they wanted to be dead more than alive. Then they're at an impasse with the natural instinct to live that's in all creatures. There's no winning. Either the human dies of madness or they find a reason to live on."

He turned away from them, staring into the distance before continuing. "I find it the most surprising that you could revive anyone at all, human or not, Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru growled at this and glared at the man's back. "Why do you say that?"

"Because I designed Tenseiga to only revive those whom you had felt sympathy; your father merely commissioned a sword to protect your kingdom from its demise, he felt that a sword that could raise the dead would give you the power of an immortal reign. I could not, unfortunately, in good faith, merely hand such an immense ability over without any restraints. You must care for, in some way, the ones you revive." 


	12. XII

Chapter Twelve: Hanyou, Interrupted

After the smithy had left Kagome and InuYasha had stepped aside to talk. He could hear their conversation clearly but was only partially listening. Sesshomaru was thinking over what Totosai had said about Tenseiga.

Could it be true? Did he really sympathize with this human woman? Rin, was understandable, he pitied the child at that time and so the sword could have easily mistaken that for care. Jaken had been his retainer for years, so its reaction towards the toad was equally explained in their common tie. But the woman?

Looking up at her he watched as she smiled and nodded, pulling the hanyou into a hug. He felt a possessive growl escape his throat and both of them turned to give him odd looks. He merely raised an eyebrow at them and then turned away to ignore them.

Perhaps it would be better for him to just let her go. After all, she was at this very moment discussing leaving with his half-brother. It irritated a part of him that he did not want to understand.

Therefore, when she had pleaded with him to let her go with her friends and InuYasha to search for jewel shards he had merely shrugged. He hadn't even looked at her, just left her there in the field with the hanyou.

When he arrived in his home he was greeted by the monk who asked where Kagome had gone. His eyes looked down at the human, staring through him with a blank expression. "It is no concern of mine. Travel to the east of here, she will be there."

They left and he was once again in his study for his night cap. Sitting there next to the cheery fire he stared down at the coppery hued liquid as it sloshed about in his glass. He stared into the night, refusing to think on her or what the smith had said.

The drink remained as it was, ice melted through, in his hand and he woke the next morning from it slipping out of his grasp to splatter onto the floor. He had fallen asleep waiting. Waiting for her to come and join him.

Kagome smiled and looked over at him with a sigh. "We should probably make camp here and wait for the others to find us."

He nodded. "Yeah, sounds good." An uncomfortable silence fell upon them and they both sat there, not moving for fear of creating more discomfort.

"Look, Kagome, about… well about all this mess. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt anybody. I guess I never really took it seriously, how you acted and what you said about how you felt. I always figured it was just some crush that would go away and then we'd be okay. We'd be just like we always had been, friends." He shook his head and sighed. "I never imagined that my not saying anything would lead you to this. When… when Sesshomaru had arrived and began accusing me I was angry, really angry, and I just said the first thing that came to mind without thinking about anyone. Then, then when you died I found you."

InuYasha let out a slight choking sound and Kagome laid her hand on his shoulder, causing him to look at her. "It's okay, InuYasha. I did some thinking, too. It's not your fault. I let myself be blinded by my feelings and by believing everyone when they told me that it would all turn out right. I should have been a little more aggressive and lot more protective of myself, then I probably wouldn't be in this mess." She smiled a little at him and he sighed slightly before shaking his head.

"No, Kagome, I want you to know this. When you… well, when I found you in the water; Sesshomaru came. He demanded that I give you to him. There wasn't any other way to save you, though. Had I known that he had to care about you to bring you back I'd have never left you with him!" He laughed a little and then stopped at the serious look on her face. "What?"

She fidgeted a little and looked down at her feet, hair falling to cover her face. "I can't imagine Sesshomaru cares that much. I'm just a piece of property to him."

The hanyou frowned and pulled her close into a half-hug. "That's okay, Kagome. Sesshomaru takes great care of his property, you know." He said it in a joking tone and she couldn't help but giggle. "Now, let's set up camp. We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow!"

"Can I just know one thing?" He stilled at the tone in her voice and waited for her to continue. "Something that Sesshomaru said to me that I haven't been able to forget. I keep wondering… why did you choose Kikyo over me?"

"I… well; it's kind of hard to explain. I suppose I could use excuses and say it was because I met her first and so I love her more than you or something like that. But I won't bother; I know you're smarter than those ploys. The truth is I'm not sure."

"Not sure?" Barely a whisper, he could hear her lips part from their dryness.

He nodded and looked to the ground with a sigh. "I'm not really sure who I love. I don't even know if I love Kikyo. Friendship is easy to find and all but love… I don't really know what that is."

Before he could continue a rustle of the bushes startled them and Shippo popped out, followed by Sango and Miroku atop Kilala. Kagome smiled widely and sighed slightly at the disapproving looks from her friends. "Hey guys!"

"Good evening Lady Kagome." Miroku said, placing unusual emphasis on the lady honorific. She blushed and lowered her eyes again, they were angry with her for leaving him like this.

A little voice popped up in her mind reminding her that she wasn't too happy about it either. She already missed him. With a shake of her head she went to get her pack from Sango and then set about rolling out her sleeping bag. No more thoughts of youkai lords or husbands.

The pang she felt when her mind traced over that word she could not explain. 


	13. XIII

Chapter Thirteen: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Despondent

It had been two months. Two months since he had seen or heard from her. Sesshomaru sat in his study and stared blankly at the papers on his desk. They required his attention but as the days went on he found himself wondering where she was.

He had expected her to just be there, as she had before. No questions asked. A frown formed on his face as he thought of what she had asked him. "As much as I enjoy your company, Sesshomaru, I have to find the shards of the shikon jewel before Naraku does. I do this for everyone, even you. Please understand that. I need to go, this is my duty."

Her duty; what about her duty to him? He had treated her well. Given her everything that a wife of her status was allowed and then-some. So where was she? Why had she gone back to be with his brother?

Worse… people were beginning to talk. It was said that she had fled from him back into the hanyou's arms, loving him still. They mocked Sesshomaru behind his back and he wasn't sure what hurt more; their words about his inability to keep a wife or their words on how Kagome had run to his brother out of love for him.

Jealous. That's what she had called him. Ludicrous! He could never be jealous over a human wench that belonged to him. How does one get envious over a piece of property? It made no sense.

Still, he had to admit that he was beginning to favor the idea of going and dragging her back. He had told her that she could never leave him and he planned to make good on those words whenever he thought of a good enough reason.

Sesshomaru frowned and stared down at his paperwork again. The words merged together and he rubbed his eyes slowly, trying to focus. With an angry growl he threw his arm across the desktop, shoving everything off to flutter to the floor in a heap. That blasted woman was distracting him, even now!

With a firm nod he pulled out a blank piece of parchment and wrote down a decree. Sesshomaru was tired of this stupid woman bothering him when she wasn't even here. Something had to be done. Screaming out for Jaken to come he held the semi dried decree out to the retainer with a firm look. "See to it."

Kagome cried out in pain as she felt her backside collide with the rough earth. They were fighting a particularly difficult to kill badger youkai. It didn't even have a jewel shard! It had just been here within the massive burrow it called a home when they had passed by.

Apparently their steps upset it because it had come running out, angry and already in a red eyed rage. Sango had been thrown against a hard tree, knocking her unconscious, and Miroku was next to her slumping form to guard her. Shippo and Kilala were somewhere above, watching from a safe distance. InuYasha was to the side, trying to slash at the thick hide of the badger with his claws.

It ignored him and rushed at Kagome, who had been thrown by its small tail across the semi clear area. She looked up, blue eyes widening with realization. "I'm going to die!" She squeaked before covering her head with her arms in a protective stance, blocking her view of the creature.

Suddenly a ripping wind rushed past her and then the sound of a sword being drawn sharply came into the clearing. When Kagome lifted her head she looked to see the last thing she expected. Sesshomaru stood above her, Tokijin drawn and bloodied with the innards of the badger who was now laying in half on the ground before her.

He bent down to clean the sword in the grass and then turned to face her. She smiled at him to show her appreciation but that smile quickly faded when she noticed the dark look on his face. He was angry with her. "Woman! Is this what you do in your spare time? Try to get yourself killed in every way you can imagine?"

A frown covered her face and she glared at him. "I wasn't trying to get myself killed! We just passed and it got angry for our disturbance! You know exactly why I'm out here!"

InuYasha came up to them and growled low at his brother. "Why are you here, Sesshomaru? That's the real question."

The stoic youkai didn't look at him. "I have come to collect my wife."

Kagome inhaled sharply and Miroku gave the lord a knowing look and a smile. InuYasha glared and shook his head sharply. "No way! I still need her to help me look for jewel shards! It was her fault the thing is broken to begin with! You can't have her, Sesshomaru!"

Sango woke from her stupor to see Sesshomaru reach down and take Kagome's hand in his, turning it over so that he could see her dirtied palm. She gave Miroku a questioning glance and he nodded at her with a smile, saying that it would be all right. Then they both gaped in amazement as the lord dropped something into the miko's waiting grasp.

It was a sight to see, for sure. The slightly darkened shards fell from his fingertips slowly, falling through the space between his and her hands. As they got closer to Kagome they faded back to their bright pink hues and then crashed into her palm, settling down on her skin.

Kagome couldn't help the little laugh that escaped her. It tickled! There must have been a hundred of them! Maybe more! When they had all fallen into her hand he curled her fingers up around the shards and then gave her fist a firm pat before he spoke again. "I'll expect you to be ready within the hour."

He left the area and nobody tried to stop him. They were still in shock. "How many?" Sango asked and Kagome quickly opened her hand to count.

"Sixty two. There are sixty two of them. That's nearly all that are left to find!"

InuYasha was angry and growled at her awed tone. "I bet they're fakes. I bet he just came up with some way to make them look like jewel shards so you'd go with him. Don't go, Kagome."

"InuYasha don't be absurd. Why would Lord Sesshomaru need to trick his own wife into coming home with him? If he had wanted he could have picked her up and carried her, kicking and screaming the whole way there. There wouldn't have been much we could do about it." Miroku said, trying to reason with the hanyou.

Kagome merely stared at the shards as they twinkled in her hand. Why had he done this? Was he just trying to get her away from InuYasha or… or did he really miss her? 


	14. XIV

Chapter Fourteen: Private Interlude

Something inside of him let out a sigh of relief when she stepped into his study and snuggled into the large armchair next to his. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she smiled and looked at the fire. She looked so tiny, there in the giant red chair with her billowing white nightgown covering her body.

Then she turned her gaze towards him and his eyes darted away to look into the fire. He lifted his glass to take a sip of his drink and relished in the warmth as it ran down his throat. Yes, this was how things were supposed to be.

"Thank you." She said it softly and he stopped, glass still held against his mouth in the motion of drinking, and raised an eyebrow in question. Lowering the glass slightly he turned his head to look at her with a curious gaze. "For the jewel shards, I just wanted to thank you for giving them to me."

He nodded and turned to look at the fire again, taking another drink. Her reaction was slight but he noticed her discomfort at his lack of response. His mind went through the options on what he could say or do to make her comfortable again. Sesshomaru set the glass down on the small table that sat between them and then reached out his hand, taking hers in his.

She inhaled sharply in surprise and her eyes widened a fraction, a small blush creeping onto her face during the motion. Neither said anything. Kagome smiled and sighed a little, laying back into the chair to look at him. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

His fingers lazily trailed over her skin, but his eyes remained focused on the fire. Within him he was trying to sort out the feelings he was having over something as simple as holding a woman's hand. What was going on here? He had merely wanted to give her a wordless welcome. Why did it feel so much more intimate?

"I'm sure this place brings back memories for you." Miroku said with a small smile as he looked at his hanyou friend. It had taken much convincing to get him to go with them to the western palace but in the end he had joined them.

The boy shook his head slightly and laughed a little. "Not one. Sesshomaru had this place built about sixty three years ago. I was, eh, otherwise occupied at the time and not exactly in my half-brother's good graces. Or anyone else's, for that matter."

Miroku nodded and looked up at the stars. "Kikyo?" His friend nodded and turned his gaze upwards as well. "Not to intrude or anything but, why did you do what you did? We all know what you told Kagome but I'd like to know the truth."

InuYasha fidgeted nervously. "The truth?" His voice came out cracked and high pitched. He laughed a little and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I guess the truth is that I'd always wanted uhm…" His face burned with an embarrassed blush.

The monk raised an eyebrow curiously and smirked. "Always wanted?"

The hanyou's gaze turned angry and he growled. "Oh you're not going to give up, are you? Well, I always wanted a woman who was there for me in more than just emotional ways. Kagome is great, she's fun to be around and she's very dutiful. And she's pretty as hell when she's all fired up! Problem is… well she's still in that state of mind where I'd have to move a mountain just to get a night with her."

Miroku laughed and looked over at the boy. "So you're saying that your main issue with women has to do with what happens between the bed sheets? And because Kagome doesn't put out you put her out?"

InuYasha lowered his head slightly and sighed. "I know it sounds horrible. Man! After fifty years of being pinned to a tree and all… you've got needs. Kikyo had never denied me so when I had problems I just went to her as the natural answer. I really didn't mean to hurt anyone."

"You can be really stupid sometimes, InuYasha."

Kagome stretched in the chair and yawned. "Well, I guess it's past my bedtime now. Goodnight Sesshomaru." She stood and began to walk away but found that he hadn't let her hand go.

Stopping she turned to look at him curiously. "I really need some sleep. You said there was a lot I needed to do tomorrow. Can I go now?" He looked up at her and didn't say anything just stood and led her out of the study. She blushed and felt his grip on her hand tighten as they passed the door to her room. "Um. Sesshomaru? That was my room back there."

He ignored her, taking her through a set of double doors which revealed a small sitting room. Then they went through another door, but it was dark in the room and Kagome couldn't make out where they were. She laughed nervously and looked up to where she assumed he was. "Sesshomaru? What's going on?"

Then she felt herself being pulled down onto a bed and a blanket being thrown over her. She lay there for a moment, eyes wide, and the air rushed from her lungs when she felt his arm wrap around her waist and pull her to lie against him. Nervousness crept up on her and she blushed heavily.

She could feel every curve of his body molded against her and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and giving herself a big pep talk in her mind. This was okay. He wasn't doing anything inappropriate. It was okay!

Biting her lip she let her head sink further into the pillow and sighed. If it was all okay then why did she feel this odd sensation in her stomach that cried out for something more? 


	15. XV

Chapter Fifteen: First Wife

Sesshomaru woke the next morning, cracking one golden eye open only to close it promptly when it was met with the blaring sunlight. This was different. He never woke past sunrise.

It was then that he remembered last night and curling against the woman in his bed. Her scent had calmed something in him and he had almost instantly gone to sleep. She had been nervous and curious but did not question him about it or run from the room. That was a good sign.

Sitting up he looked down expecting to see her raven head there, buried among his pillows. Nothing, his bed was empty. Had it been, dare he think it possible, a dream?

He stood and went into his dressing room to change into some day clothes. Today he would have to get Kagome started on her duties. There was so much he had to catch up on due to her absence that he truly would need her assistance to pick up the pieces and clean the mess that was his kingdom up again.

When he exited his room he had to step back against the door or be run over by servants. His staff was running about the house, even people he didn't recognize, looking as if they would die if they did not complete their tasks. Looking around he saw a sight that nearly made his jaw drop.

Kagome stood at the end of the corridor, dressed in a very fine kimono and hair pulled up into a sensible bun. She held a number of pieces of parchment in her left hand and was waiving her right one around, pointing at various persons and calling out to them with orders.

Beside her stood her friend, the demon slayer girl, who was smiling in approval and giving Kagome little bits of helpful advice here and there. "No, no, Kagome. You don't have to memorize all their names! You'll never know them all!" She laughed and the miko gave her an odd glare.

"I don't care what you or anyone else thinks, Sango. I'm going to know every person in this kingdom by name, if nothing else. I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't know them." She smiled at her friend's laughing face but stilled when her friend's face changed to a slacked stare down the hall. Turning she saw him there, leaning against his doorway and looking as if he were a small trapped animal among the crowded hallway.

Kagome smirked and handed the papers to Sango before turning to face the bustle of the staff. She held her hands up and sharply clapped twice. Everyone stopped and stood still, looking to her carefully. "My Lord wishes to pass. Please clear him a path, everyone!" Her voice was clear and defined, showing no nervousness or fear.

Sesshomaru walked through the parting youkai, looking at them all one at a time carefully to see if this was really the staff he had hired for his home. Once he reached her he looked down at her and she smiled up at him before taking the papers from Sango and fingering through them for something. She pulled a sheet out and held it to him. "A message for you; I didn't think it was worth waking you for."

He ignored the paper and continued to look at her, causing her to fidget slightly. "What is all this, Kagome?"

Her face lit up and she gave a startled "oh!" before clapping her hands again. The room sprang to life again and people ran about, doing tasks. "I'm cleaning. You really waste the amount of people you have in your employ. Seventeen messengers and two cooks! Really, Sesshomaru, I thought this was a palace of the greatest youkai kingdom in Japan! Such a disgrace, I woke up this morning and was going down the hall to get a drink when I noticed how horribly dirty the place was. So, I decided to utilize the staff that I found lolling about picking their noses." She smiled up at him and raised an eyebrow delicately. "Have I done something wrong?"

He looked away from her to see her friend over her shoulder, laughing a little. "No. Amazingly for a human you have not messed up in your duties yet. We shall see, Kagome, we shall see. When you are finished with your cleaning come to my study; there are matters you must attend to that do not involve cobwebs or noses." He turned and left her there and she sighed a little.

"He always tries to be so offensive when we're in public. It's kind of a pity. He has such a nice voice." Sango nodded in agreement but stopped to help Kagome when a young girl was about to smash a priceless vase.

"Digging in the flowerbed, InuYasha? I thought you had grown out of that long ago."

The hanyou stilled and turned to growl at his older brother. He flicked his wrist, tightening his fingers and extending his claws while tossing dirt onto the pristine pants that Sesshomaru wore. "We're doing this for Kagome. If you took care of things then she wouldn't have to wake us up at dawn to start working on this overgrown mess! I suppose you got away without having to do anything, too!"

Sesshomaru smirked and turned to leave the hanyou, monk, and kitsune boy to their work. "Of course. Unlike you, women do not tell me what to do."

When he was gone both Miroku and Shippo were snickering. "What's so funny?" InuYasha ground out at them, still riled from his brother's intrustion.

The monk couldn't speak through laughter so it was up to the red headed child to inform the dense boy. "He thinks that Kagome won't boss him around."

A smile wound its way onto InuYasha's face and he joined in their laughter. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he learns the truth!"

"Truth of what?" They stopped laughing and turned to see Kagome and Sango standing there. The slayer had asked the question but all three of the boys took one look at the miko and broke into harder fits of laughter.

Kagome rolled her eyes at them and turned to Sango. "Come on. I've got to meet him in the study now or he'll get angry. Tell me what else I need to know, quickly!" She turned and began walking the direction Sesshomaru had just come from.

Sango sighed and followed, throwing her hands in the air. "Kagome! I already told you all I know! Like I said, I was the daughter of the head-man in my village but I had only begun preparations for marriage a few years before my family was killed! There's nothing else that I can tell you. In my village, learning to slay demons was more important than learning how to run a household. We did things very differently there!"

They were now in front of the doors to the study and Kagome sighed before turning to her friend. "I know. Thank you." She pushed the door open slightly and entered, closing it lightly behind her before walking over to stand near his desk.

His face was downcast, looking intently at some papers. She noticed that he had quite a stack sitting to the side and was piling some into a corner after reading and writing responses. Obviously, he had not done much work while she was away.

"Where did you learn how to run a household?" He asked, without looking up at her.

She smiled a little and looked around. "The real question is when, not where. They don't teach that sort of stuff in my culture. Sango has been giving me what little lessons she could give from her own experiences. Though they aren't much and I'm sure some of it is very different from what you expect of me. I'm pretty confident I can figure this out, though."

He nodded and lifted a stack of papers to hold out to her. "Go through those. I want you to find the one that you feel is the most important and tell me why."

A heavy feeling entered her throat. A test, he was giving her a test. She bit her lip and took the stack, eyeing each one for a moment, pulling one or two out and stacking them in the front before moving on to the next. When she had a smaller group to go by she went through those, reading more carefully before coming to her decision.

She held the paper to him and he took it, reading it and then giving her an odd expression. "Why did you choose this one?"

"I went through them all, they were all seemingly urgent but this appeared to have the most importance." This particular note was a request from a village from the northern territory that had suffered from a famine and was asking for sanctuary. Their lord had denied them assistance as he could not afford it.

Sesshomaru eyed the paper again and then looked up at her carefully before taking one of the others she had set aside and looking at it. "You feel that this is more important than, say, this one here? A land dispute between two farmers, they could kill each other over this if someone does not intervene."

Kagome nodded slowly. "They probably could, but their feud has been going on for several years now, if you read more carefully. If they haven't killed each other by now they most likely will not any time soon. Besides, if they can't appreciate the land given to them then we know some half-starved northerners who are more than willing to share it."

His eyes widened slightly at her decision making abilities. She certainly had the concept down. Now to see if she could appropriately assign a response that was within her power. "So what would you reply to the northern village?"

She sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk and tapped her chin with her finger. "Well, I suppose I'd have to first speak with you. The land isn't mine to give and while I'd be happy to do so, it's really not my responsibility. So I'd reply telling them that they could come to stay as my guests; putting them in the stable wing, with the staff of the mills and herds so they're out of my way; while I discuss their plight with my lord and request some land for them."

Sesshomaru was slightly pleased that she would think of asking him for something like that instead of being headstrong and doing things how she liked. "And what if I were to say no?"

She sighed and shook her head. "You wouldn't. I'd nag you until you said yes. But, if you did happen to say no I'd probably just hire them on as additional staff because that is my part of the house and you have no control over that." She smirked at him and he glared at her.

Inwardly he groaned. She was doing so well, too. 


	16. XVI

Chapter Sixteen: Invitations and Preparations

Another week had passed and Kagome was proving more than able to hold her own as lady of the lands. Sesshomaru suddenly found himself with his wish: free time. Unfortunately he had no idea what to do with it.

So he stood in the gardens, enjoying the heat of the day with his sword in hand. This is where she found him, bare-chested and sweaty from his workout. She sighed a little at the sight, he seemed happier lately which made him much more tolerable.

He heard her and turned to see her there, a wistful expression on her face. "Yes?" Her face scrunched up and she rolled her eyes.

"Don't act as if I'm bothering you. We both know that you have entirely no idea what to do with yourself." She smirked and he growled low, turning away from her and thrusting out his sudden agitation with a smooth arc of his sword. Her sapphire eyes followed his movements, admiring his swordsmanship before she turned them back to his face and noticed the slack appearance. "Why don't you make something?"

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow delicately and looked at her questioning. She smiled and shook her head, coming over to where he was and grabbing a towel that was sitting on a nearby bench before walking over to him.

Surprising both of them she lifted her hand up, towel in her grasp, and began to blot away the droplets of sweat from his brow. He stood there for a moment, allowing her to do this before grasping her wrist to stop her from continuing on his shoulders. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you never make anything. Most people have hobbies, you know, things they do in their spare time. I guess you never really grew up with that luxury so you don't know what kinds of things you like to do. Find something to make, it's useful and time consuming." He stared at her for a moment and watched as her eyes darkened and shivered slightly under his intense gaze.

"Is that all you came out here for?"

She shook her head slightly, hair swaying soundless around her face. "No. I actually came about that note I gave you a week ago. The message that I didn't wake you up for? You didn't send a reply."

"I must have forgotten about it. It can't be that important." He released her from his grasp and turned to pick up his undershirt, pulling it over his body.

"Well now they expect us to go. I didn't think you had wanted to but today I got a message stating that they were expecting us there." She sounded nervous.

"Go? What is this?" He looked at the parchment she was holding out and took it in his grasp, glancing over it. Oh. That's all this was about. "I see. They do this all the time, if you don't reply to their original invitation they just assume that you'll be there. I usually go; its good politics to be known."

She frowned slightly and bit her lip. "Well can I stay here?"

"Of course you may not." He saw her fidget, much to his amusement, and he wondered why she was so bothered by this. "Is something wrong with going to a party?"

"Well… it's just that… I don't know how to dance or eat proper or anything! You remember what happened the last time we had guests! Besides…" She sighed and shook her head slightly. "I know the wolf clan a little better than I'd like."

Sesshomaru looked at her and then looked at the invitation again. "So you'll have friends there, I don't see what the problem is. I'm sure that Ayame, the one who is preparing this particular party, will like you very much."

She blushed a little and lowered her gaze. "I doubt that."

"Nonsense; you're going. It's expected. They all know that I have a wife now and as such your presence is required." He turned and left her there in the garden, worry riding off her in visible waves.

Kagome felt as if she were going to be sick. She was going to have to face Koga. Worse! She was going to have to face Koga and Ayame. Even worse! She was going to have to face them as Sesshomaru's wife! The color left her face and she sat down on the nearby bench, unable to stand anymore.

This was going to be horrible.

This was going to be splendid. Sesshomaru could already feel his pride welling up. This party was the perfect way to show off Kagome. Yes, show her off. He was quite pleased at how much she had changed since the first formal dinner they had been to.

It was time for him to show those back stabbing morons of the court just what he had in his possession. This was not just some human female, she was a powerful woman and she belonged to him! He grinned a little before looking about his library, which was oddly empty, and trying to decide on what hobby he should take up.

Kagome had given him somewhat of an idea on what to do to alleviate his boredom but no real direction. He sighed and looked up at a painting of his mother and father. Absently he noticed how odd it was that they were not touching and seemed to be two people in the same place outwards but miles apart within.

Then an idea struck him. That's what he could make! It would be perfect and completely unexpected which made the idea all the more savory. He walked to the hall and called for a servant to come to him. He would need some supplies.

Sango gave her a slightly irritated look. "Kagome, stop crying. You're going so you might as well make the best of it."

Her friend sighed and she looked up with slightly moistened eyes. "You're right, Sango. Besides… what better excuse do I have than this to spend extravagant amounts of money on things like a new kimono?"

An evil look crept onto the women's faces and both Miroku and InuYasha who had been watching became nervous. They were scary when they got like this. 


	17. XVII

To My Readers: This chapter contains er.. citrus. Not sure what to call it, particularly and don't care to think on the matter much. If you don't appreciate such things feel free to skip this chapter. However, the rating was there for a reason. smirks

Chapter Seventeen: Ode to Innocents

Kagome sat in the hot confines of the covered litter and held down another squeal as the runners came over another bump. She wasn't sure why Sesshomaru had insisted that she ride in the silly thing but after much fuss and his finally throwing her into the transport and telling her that she was going this way willingly or she would be strapped down she had agreed.

She regretted it immensely. Suddenly the litter stopped and was lowered to the ground in a wobbly sort of fashion. Her handmaid, Maeko, popped her head in between the curtains and Kagome jumped in fright. "Sorry for that my lady. We're stopping for the night, is there anything I can get for you before we turn down?"

"Just some water, would be nice, and thank you." The girl nodded and ran off, returning shortly with the request before bidding Kagome good night. There she was, alone in the litter with the heavy curtains down so she couldn't see a thing. It was awfully quiet. The silence was beginning to make her nervous and she moved one of the curtains aside to possibly see something.

She saw trees, a fire some five feet away where she could see the bodies of the servants that had come with them settling down to sleep. Then something sounded behind her, like a snapped twig or the crack of a rock. It sent her pulse racing and she spun around, the curtain swaying closed behind her and sending her back into darkness.

Was something out there? She closed her eyes for a moment; it was just her mind playing tricks on her! Waiting, she strained to hear anything but could not. This was too much for her. She pushed the curtains on that side, opposite from the fire, and looked into the darkness of the woods.

It was rather strange how she had slept out here in the wilderness for so long but could still be terrified of the possibilities. Her eyes darted around; searching for any movement but nothing appeared to her. She knew something was out there.

Without thinking she stepped out of the litter and dashed into the tree-line so no one would see her. She would just go check it out and come right back, nobody would know! As she walked through the darkened trees she let out a little of the breath she had been holding. "After all, it could be an injured animal or a lost child or something and I'd never know if I hadn't gone to check it out." She said to herself softly, reasoning why this made sense.

"Or it could be a murderous criminal out to rape, rob, and kill young innocent girls who wander in the middle of the night searching for lost children." A voice, deep and smooth, entered her ears. Her heart jumped into her throat before plummeting to her stomach and when she felt the fingertips slide along the back of her neck and down to the base of her spine she let out an involuntary squeak of surprise.

A body neared her from behind and she felt herself go stiff with nervous anxiety. She nearly cried when she felt his lips near her earlobe, hot breath on her face, as he whispered deeply to her. "What are you doing out here, Kagome?"

Her body began to shake as his touch began to glide over her skin, trailing back up her spine again to come up under her hairline and grasp around her head, forcefully twisting her around to face him. She saw his eyes, glowing bright in the darkness and she opened her mouth to speak but found she couldn't.

"What's wrong, Kagome? Unable to speak again?" Her body was shoved up against a tree then, sending out a startled cry from her. He pressed his body into her, reaching out to grasp her wrists in his hand and then forcefully holding them above her head. "Ah but you can cry out still. There must be some of you still in there, then." He leaned in closer to her, lips near hers, she could see his slightly bared fangs from the bottom of her vision and she closed her eyes in fear and anticipation.

He smirked. "Do you want to know what happens to young women in situations like this?" She shivered slightly and shook her head no furiously. His eyes tinted with red and he felt himself losing control. Teasing her like this was having an effect on him. If he wasn't careful he really would do something he would regret.

Closing his eyes for a moment he merely reveled in the warmth of her flesh and listened intently to the heavy shaky breathing she was letting out between slight sobs. He couldn't take any more and lowered his lips to crush hers, forcefully giving in to his confusing desire.

She screamed inside and pushed against him, trying her best to be released. In her heart she knew this was wrong. Neither of them really wanted this. It was just physical and that was not the way she wanted to lose her innocence. Her nails dug into his hand which just pressed tighter against her.

Then her eyes shot open and wide as he brought his knee up to push her up, effectively parting her unguarded legs and sending an unknown sensation through her. He released her wrists to wrap his hand around her backside, gripping it firmly and pulling her further towards him. Kagome felt her body go limp against him, unable to withstand or comprehend what was going on.

Her mind was still fighting, arms now free she used them as weapons against him, trying her best to beat him off. She flailed and hit him in every way she could but he would not release her. His leg pushed farther and she felt her body shake involuntarily. Something was building, something unexplainable.

When he finally released her lips from his own to trail it down her neck and nip at her shoulder line was when the foggy cloud released its spell on the girl and she cried out with all her might. "Sesshomaru no!"

From her hazy eyesight, blurred with tears, she saw his reddened eyes jump to gold and in a near instant she was shoved away from him and smashed roughly against the tree. She cried out in pain and then her body slumped to the ground. Looking up she saw that he was no longer in sight and shakily she stood and began the walk to the litter she had just vacated.

Her mind was rather hollow and empty, unable to process just what was going on. Oh she knew, she had learned in school and from friends, but none of that had prepared her for the gravity of the situation she found herself in now. Lying down in the litter she allowed the darkness to swallow her and her tears to fall freely.

Sesshomaru listened to her cries and waited until she had fallen asleep before thinking over what he had done and nearly done. For some reason just the close proximity of the woman in such a dark and dangerous scene had been tantalizing.

Kagome's heart and mind may not have understood but from the signals her body was giving out it was merely waiting for him to taste her. He shivered slightly and growled out in anger. She was human! He could not and would not rut with her, regardless of how pleasing she may be any other way.

Glaring towards the litter that the woman slept in now he couldn't help but blame it on her. If she didn't entice him so then he wouldn't have been prone to respond. 


	18. XVIII

Chapter Eighteen: My Fair Lady

They arrived in the territory of the wolf clan the next day. Kagome glanced out from the partially parted curtains of her litter, watching the familiar scenery of the land that Koga's tribe claimed. The mountains loomed in the distance and she couldn't help but feel tiny compared to the grandeur of nature.

When she felt the litter stopping she quickly released the curtain to swing closed and sat, holding her breath in anticipation for the reunion that she dreaded. Voices could be heard outside.

"Good day, Lord Sesshomaru! What a pleasure to have you join us for our festivities." Ginta, she recognized him by the happy lilt of his voice. One of Koga's own personal aides, she remembered him guarding her once.

Sesshomaru spoke next; Kagome flinched lightly and felt herself wither a little at the idea of him. She hadn't seen him all day and had been glad for that fact after the events of the night before. "Good day, brother wolf. It is always a pleasure to join you all for a celebration. May I ask, what is the reason today?"

Another voice joined, a female. Kagome thought it sounded vaguely familiar but it was rough and deep, not very much like a wolf. "Why Lord Sesshomaru, what a lovely sight so early in the morning! I did not expect to see you here."

A growl could be heard from Sesshomaru, low and threatening. "Lady Eri, as usual your presence is intolerable. How is your family?" Kagome had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Apparently the woman was not someone he enjoyed company with.

Surprisingly the woman seemed undeterred. "Oh they are quite well, thank you for asking. I hear that you have an addition to your own! A wife, rumor says. Come now; tell us, is this true?" She sounded like a horrible gossip. Kagome could understand what someone as reserved as Sesshomaru would not like the woman.

"You will learn in due time. For now, I require a place to set my camp up. Ginta, would you?" She heard some shuffling and the litter was being lifted again to be carried across the way and into the network of caves.

The next time it was lowered she sat there for a good fifteen minutes waiting in the darkness. Maeko lifted the curtains and tied them back. "It's time to get you ready for dinner, my lady. Let's get to it! Lucky for us you've already bathed so we don't have to do that. Here they bathe all together!" Her face scrunched up in disgust and Kagome laughed at her, allowing her to drag her out of the litter and begin the preparations.

Once she was dressed she was seated on a pile of furs to wait for Sesshomaru. It would be the first time she had seen him since the prior evening and she could feel her stomach coil in anticipation. He had not hurt her, which she was grateful for, but it had frightened her to no end to know that he could lose control so easily.

When he came into her view she smiled at him but he seemed more distant than ever, solid mask of stoic boredom on his face once more. She could only hope that despite his attitude he would be a gentleman tonight.

He held out his hand and stonily said: "come". She did, walking to him and setting her arm within his own. Sesshomaru led her down the path out of the cave and Kagome lowered her gaze to the ground, unable to stomach her nerves anymore. The collective gasps that were heard were not unexpected.

"A human."

"Oh my. Look how pretty she is."

"Dear heavens I never thought I'd see the day."

Over and over she heard them talk of her and Sesshomaru. He seemed to not care, their words bouncing off his immobile exterior. But she was both pleased and hurt by their remarks. Then the worst happened. She winced and fought her best to not show any reaction.

"Kagome?" It was Koga. He ran up to her and took her hand in his, ignoring the fact that her other was attached to Sesshomaru. "You have finally come to be with me?"

Inside, Kagome screamed. Was he really that dense? She was ready to respond to him when a cool voice emanated from the man next to her. "Lord Koga, I had come out here to introduce my new wife but it seems that you already know her. Kagome say hello to the host of the party."

Her anger flared and she tightened her hand, the one not being held by Koga, into a fist. With a forced smile she looked up into her young wolf friend's eyes and then bowed slightly. "Lord Koga, we thank you for your gracious invitation, it is a pleasure as always."

Needless to say, most of the crowd was shocked. Especially the young wolf prince; he stood there, mouth agape. Then laughter came across the field and he turned to see a gaggle of women folk looking in their direction. It was Ayame that was laughing at him.

"Think this is funny, do ya?" He asked her, hurt and anger evident on his face.

The red head nodded lightly and sighed a little. "Koga, leave her alone. For once, I kind of feel sorry for her." Several of the other women laughed heartily and Kagome blushed but looked their way in confusion. "Lord Sesshomaru, may we steal your little wife away for a while so that she can join us women? I'm sure she'd be happy to have some female companionship."

"Or any kind of companionship." One woman boldly declared. So that's what they were inferring. They were trying to say that it was worse to be married to Sesshomaru than have Koga chase after her. She sighed and removed her hand from Koga's grip forcefully before placing it on Sesshomaru's arm and holding him to her.

Looking around she smiled and her eyes twinkled a little in delight. In the near distance was a band playing music and a few couples were dancing around. Perfect.

"I believe I can speak for myself. I appreciate your offer, ladies, but I rather enjoy my husband's company. So if you don't mind I believe he owes me a dance." She smiled up at him gently and he looked down at her with an unreadable face.

Inside his mind he was confused. After having frightened her so last night he expected her to run from him. Instead she stood here, defending his pride and his honor by refusing to leave him. He smiled slightly at her and the crowd around gasped in surprise before he led her to the dance floor and swung her around into his embrace.

"I thought you said that you couldn't dance."

"I can't." She laughed.

At that moment he wasn't sure why but Sesshomaru felt to be the luckiest man in all Japan. He had a woman who was truly devoted, no matter his flaws.

Silently he thanked his brother for being born a moron. 


	19. XIX

Chapter Nineteen: Sweetheart Contract

Dinner with the wolf clan reminded Kagome of a pot-luck supper at a rather overly ambitious church. People were everywhere, children ran among them, food was in abundance and the laughter and music never died.

She looked up over the fire before her and saw Sesshomaru watching her. Blushing she lowered her gaze back to the plate of food before her. Then, before her thoughts could get worse, someone sat next to her and reached out, taking the roll of her plate.

Kagome glanced up to see Ayame sitting there, munching on her stolen roll. "I was planning on eating that." The red head eyed her for a moment before her face scrunched up and she pointed a finger at her.

"I'm not sure what they see in you. You're not that pretty to look at and you're not of royal blood. Not to mention the obvious human factor. How do you do it?"

The miko blinked in confusion. Was this girl truly asking a question or just trying to be rude? "I'm not sure how to answer that, Ayame. I didn't do anything."

"Oh really? So then, how did you come to be married to Lord Sesshomaru if you did nothing?" That was a familiar voice, Lady Eri? Yes, that's what he had called her. She was a very striking looking panther female. Kagome now knew two reasons why Sesshomaru didn't like the woman.

She sighed and looked down again. However, a voice rose up to save her. "InuYasha betrayed her. I took her on by rights of order to protect the family name. She has proven to be acceptable."

Several of the guests were now staring at her and listening to the conversation intently. Someone questioned what everyone was thinking. "So you don't even want her? It's an arranged union?"

Sesshomaru nodded to the last question but Kagome felt her heart cry a little at how he had ignored the first. She didn't speak, just continued to stare into the fire with a dull expression. He continued to answer their questioning glances. "She is human; I would never have pursued her. However, we are both forced into this situation and I will not back down from it like a coward."

A few murmurs could be heard and then Ayame spoke up. "So when are you going to begin searching for an appropriate mate? I mean, you wouldn't possibly bed this human and have a hanyou like your father. That would be distasteful and bring further dishonor to you."

Kagome couldn't help the tear that escaped her eye, trailing down her face to drop off her chin and into the food below. That was true. Despite how happy she thought she could be with him, he would find someone else to produce his heir.

"That is probably true. However, I am in no need for an heir at the immediate time so for now Kagome's services are adequate."

A part of her died and screamed out but she just sat there, remembering his reaction to her last outburst. She would wait until they were alone to discuss her feelings with him. Not like he cared anyway.

She stood and moved to dispose of her food. Much to her annoyance Ayame followed. "You know," the wolf girl began with a smile "it's pretty obvious Lord Sesshomaru doesn't want you around. You should run away with someone else. Someone who can protect you from him, that's what I'd do."

Kagome tried to ignore her but after hearing Sesshomaru's bored tones express his loathing of being paired with her a little seed of doubt began to creep into her stressed mind. She was only adequate to him. Not the superbly wonderful wife she had imagined she was becoming.

A frown marred her face and she began to walk while in deep thought. Eventually she came to a clearing with a large tree in the middle. She walked towards the tree only to stop when she saw someone under it. He looked up at her and smiled slightly, holding out a hand for her to come to him.

She did and he pulled her closer to him inhaling her scent before he spoke. "I'm sorry, Kagome. My reaction earlier was kind of harsh. I just… I wish that you would leave those stupid brothers and go with me. I'd always love you like you wanted, even if we could never be rich or well-known."

He traced a finger down her cheek and she closed her eyes at the affectionate touch. "Koga… I." Something in her cracked, why should she argue? Wasn't this what she wanted? Love! It was there before her, she just had to accept it! "I'll go with you."

It was barely a whisper and he was afraid he hadn't heard it but when she looked up at him with those trusting sapphire orbs he knew he had heard right. With a cry of glee he lifted her up and spun her around before crushing her lips upon his.

Finally, for once and for all, Kagome had agreed to be his woman!

She rode on his emotions, unable to produce the happy joy herself. When he lifted her into his arms and carried her away, in the opposite direction of the party, she knew there was no going back. She just hoped that she had done the right thing for everyone. 


	20. XX

Chapter Twenty: Emancipated Lover

Ayame stepped up next to Eri and nodded. "I think she bought the bait. Now let's see how mr. denial takes it." They grinned and watched the unfolding scene.

"Lord Sesshomaru." Maeko fidgeted uncomfortably. Why did they nominate her to tell him? When he didn't say anything she continued. "Lord Sesshomaru, have you seen Lady Kagome? It's time for her to dress down for bed but I haven't been able to find her."

"Have some of the staff go looking for her, she's probably just among the crowd." He said in a bored tone. The girl winced and backed up a couple steps.

"We already looked, three times. Lady Kagome is missing." The girl felt like she was going to implode any moment if he continued to sit there and do nothing.

Sesshomaru didn't let her down. In a moment he was up and moving across the field, sniffing the air lightly for the scent he knew of simply as Kagome. She was not present. He followed the strongest of her scent to where it last had been and found a trail leading him to a clearing with a large tree in the middle.

Next to the tree, swaying in the breeze was an organza scarf she had been wearing that evening. It was pinned beneath a rock along with a piece of parchment and he lifted both in his hands, only then noticing the unusually large crowd he had.

He ignored them and opened the folded parchment to read what it said. He blinked and read it again, unsure if he had read wrong. She had left him. Literally, this time, not like the last time with InuYasha; no, she had fled with the wolf boy.

A possessive growl emanated from Sesshomaru and several of the audience stepped back in reflex. Lord Sesshomaru was known for his impulsive actions and his powerful youki, a bad combination.

He turned to face the direction they had gone and sniffed the air once more to assure he was correct. Then, before anyone could do anything more, he was gone and after them. Nobody took what was his and she had been told several times that she was not allowed to leave him.

Foolish woman; she would pay dearly for this.

Koga finally stopped somewhere near the ocean, she guessed as she could hear it in the distance and the sky seemed a little bluer. He merely stood there for a moment, holding her and watched the moon over the mountain range ahead.

Then he pointed towards it with a smile. "That's our home, Kagome. Since I met you I had it all planned out. I knew someday you would be mine and so I prepared." Before she could say anything her world was jerked back into motion as he ran up the side of the mountain and into a cave.

Within the cave was a wall with a door and a small window. She blinked and looked at it and he opened the door, carrying her over the threshold as if they were newlyweds and then setting her on her own two feet. For a few dizzy moments Kagome did nothing but hold her head, then she overcame the powerful feeling and looked around.

It was a modest little home built within the cave. A table with some cushions was in the corner, a small clay oven sat nearby, a square fire pit sat in the center, and to the rear was a pile of large furs which she guessed was for sleeping. He had really tried to make a cozy little home.

Kagome compared it to other homes she had lived in and decided this was probably the most sparse but the most unique. She wasn't sure how to think on it. "I'm tired." She said, without emotion and wandered to the pile of furs, throwing herself on it. Her eyes didn't close. She merely stared into the wall, at nothing, unable to think for fear of going mad.

All her heart could do was scream out for Sesshomaru. She wondered why.

Ayame sighed when Ginta came running up to her spouting about important news. It always was important to them. She held her hand out and he stopped. "Slow down, man, you're never going to tell me at that rate."

The young wolf frowned and then threw his hands out in a motion of despair. "Koga is gone!"

The girl's emerald eyes widened and she grabbed him by the collar, roughly jerking him about. "I told you to keep him occupied! That stupid bitch! I didn't tell her to take Koga and run!"

Everyone turned to look at her, the night going eerily silent, and she turned to stare back with a bemused expression on her face. "Eheh… I was just trying to help."

Several of the guests frowned at her and some turned away from her, ashamed at her actions. She had pushed the poor girl away by abusing her feelings. Now there was no telling what the outcome would be.

Most likely, knowing the wrath of Sesshomaru, someone would die. 


	21. XXI

Chapter Twenty-One: War Cry

A haunting howl startled Kagome out of her sleep and she shot up from the furs to run a hand over her sweat covered forehead. That sound, the cry that pierced the night with a painful ring, it jabbed into her heart and burned.

She shivered slightly and lifted one of the furs, wrapping it around her shoulders. It was so cold in here. Looking around the tiny space she noticed that Koga was not inside. Getting up and bringing the fur with her she shuffled down to the door, opening it only find wailing winds on the outside.

With a sigh she walked along the wall and to the side of the cave then towards the opening. The sight she saw caused her to gasp in fear and shock.

They were there, on the sandy bank below, rushing at each other with claws extended. She noticed the audience they had, mostly guests from the party, who were standing there doing nothing.

Forcing her gaze back to the fight she watched as Sesshomaru thrust his acid laden fist through Koga's left shoulder. "No!" She cried out, unable to keep herself silent any longer.

Amber eyes looked up at her, gazing hard with an emotion she couldn't place. He looked… sad. Then he was falling, Koga had knocked him over and was pulling a dagger from a hidden point in the back part of his belt. She inhaled sharply and screamed. "SESSHOMARU!"

It was too late. The undefeatable had been defeated. Thanks to a woman. Koga stepped back and Ayame rushed up to him, anger in her eyes. Then pointed towards Kagome who was in a heap on the cave floor, crying intensely; "What will you do now?" she heard the wolf girl ask the confused prince.

Nobody could blame Koga, exactly, he had only fought for self-preservation and the right to a woman he believed wanted him. He had just been confused. The poor boy ran up to the broken girl and took her in his arms, bringing her down the mountain side to where the others were.

Once her feet touched the sand she became fierce, shoving away from him and knocking him to the ground before rushing to fall at Sesshomaru's side. She fell over him, running her hands over his face. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Sesshomaru merely looked at her for a moment. She looked horrible. He was angry, she had betrayed him. Why had she done that? It was time to ask. "Kagome. Why did you leave me?"

She shivered with her sobs and shook her head forcefully while her fingers fumbled over his already healing wound. "I thought that you didn't want me. I didn't want to be a burden to you!"

As he watched the crystalline teardrops fall from her face he remembered words that his brother had spoken to him: "You idiot, she doesn't belong to anyone. You can take her if you can save her but you will never have her. She'll defy you at every move. Run from you at every chance. Fight you at every moment. You'll sleep with one eye open for the rest of your life, because eventually you'll learn the hard way. The truth about Kagome, she never lets you live. She sucks the life from you slowly, taking it out in payments of smiles and heartfelt laughter that seems so innocent at first but your mind begins to lose the battle and eventually she wins. It will overpower you, her purity, until there is nothing left but a hollowed out version of the man you were because every night and every day you will fear. You will fear that she will be gone."

For once, it seemed, the idiot knew what he was talking about. Sesshomaru reached up and she jumped when his hand traced along her jaw line, wiping at the tears that rested there. "You will always be a burden to me, Kagome."

She inhaled sharply and turned away from him, fresh sobs rising from her chest. He grasped her chin in his hand and turned her to face him again. "However… I will always cherish that burden."

Her lower lip trembled and she began to cry anew. He gave her a worried glance and she laughed slightly, shaking her head a little. "I'm all right. Are you going to be okay?"

Looking into her deep blue eyes he smiled slightly and nodded. "As long as you stay with me."

Ayame pulled Koga by his ear, dragging him back home to chastise him for his behavior. Unfortunately for her there were several people who had followed them and were reminding her that it had been her idea to begin with.

"What! You convinced Kagome to do that!" Koga asked, angered by the idea of the girl setting his friend up for pain.

She fidgeted a little and nodded. "I only wanted to help them! If he keeps treating her lower than the ground he walks on then she'll live her life miserable. Somebody had to make him see that there was a possibility that he could lose her!"

Everyone was quietly surprised. It somehow made sense, the little scheme of hers. By forcing Sesshomaru to fight for Kagome he had to admit, publicly, that he cared if she were with him or not. It was an unusual plan but effective, nonetheless.

"Why did you throw this party, anyway, Ayame? You told us that you were going to let everyone know when it was over!" Lady Eri called out to her friend and the wolf girl became red with an embarrassed flush.

"Well, I… don't we usually throw a party to celebrate a new baby!" She turned away sharply, not looking at the others.

Koga stared at her for a moment before turning her to face him. "You're pregnant?"

She nodded but still refused to look at him. He grinned widely and grabbed her, twirling her about in joy. She squealed and everyone applauded, although someone concerned for the child of two such odd fellows.

Nobody noticed that Kagome and Sesshomaru had not returned. 


	22. XXII

Chapter Twenty-Two: Promontory Impasse

He was sitting there in the warm sand, holding her to him possessively, when he had felt the tingle to his senses. Something was coming.

Lowering his gaze to look at the fragile creature sleeping against him he frowned. Jewel shards. She had brought them with her, most likely, trusting she would be protected.

After he had ordered the decree that all residents of the western lands must either give up or report any jewel shards he had assumed that most would be in her possession by now. That left only one option as to who was headed their way.

He shook her lightly and she stirred a little, turning into him and snuggling into his chest more. With a sigh he shook her again, calling her name lightly. He watched as her eyes fluttered open to reveal their blue depths and he felt a slight pang for having to bother her for this.

"Naraku is coming, Kagome. You must wake up now."

She was certainly awake now. Her body shifted into auto mode and he watched her in amusement as she reached behind her in search for her bow and quiver. "Where? Oh, right! I don't. Oh no!"

He laughed slightly and took her hands in his, lifting them to his lips to kiss the knuckles slowly until she calmed down and looked at him silently. "Kagome, do not fear. Trust me and I will protect you."

Kagome felt a shiver run through her. What was this sensation? She sighed slightly and nodded, smiling at him. "I trust you, Sesshomaru."

"Very well. Now go into the water as far as you can. I want it so that you're as far from this as possible. He'll be less likely to go after you there." She sighed and leaned up, kissing him on the cheek before rushing into the cold waves.

In her heart she was crying out. She had nearly lost him once tonight, now was the real test. She wanted to call out to him, tell him that if there was any doubt he should run and forget his pride just to live. But she never had the chance.

Saimyosho filled the skies and Kagome swore that the beating of their wings was only marginally louder than the beating of her heart. Then she saw them, red eyes glowing through the darkened trees and staring right at her. "Ku, ku, ku… what have we here? The little miko without her protector?"

He turned his eyes towards Sesshomaru as he entered the clearing. "Lord Sesshomaru, what a pleasant surprise. Are you playing sitter for your brother?"

Sesshomaru growled slightly and unsheathed Tokijin, pointing its tip towards Naraku. "I protect her of my own will, hanyou. Watch your tongue." Then a wave of purple energy rushed out of the tip of his sword and Naraku had to use what little agility he had to move from its path.

"That's certainly enlightening." He said in his smooth voice, as if nothing had happened just now. Reaching out he thrust out his hand towards Sesshomaru and Kagome watched as the moonlight reflected off a tiny dart as it impaled into the youkai's right shoulder.

Amber eyes tinged with red as Sesshomaru reached up and yanked the offending object out of his person, flinging blood across the sand and his clothes. "Your tricks will have no effect on this Sesshomaru."

Kagome's eyes went wide. He was reverting back to a persona she had not seen in some time. As if, when he was full of rage he was a different person. This man was most certainly bi-polar.

She continued to watch them circle one another, Sesshomaru seemingly leading Naraku towards the center so he was more or less spiraling towards disaster as the lord lifted his sword and pulled out his youki whip at the same time, the whip hit air to the right but the sword sent a wave of ki towards Naraku that had him flying into the mountain, crushing some of the rock before it crumbled, dust sputtering out as his body fell towards the ground and landed roughly in the sand.

Sesshomaru remained in the distance, watching the hanyou and moving from side to side swiftly, as if anticipating something. Kagome was amazed when the hanyou rose from the ground in one move and then sent a mass of miasma towards his opponent. For a moment she was worried that the miasma attack would catch her but then she saw how it reacted to the water, going away with the winds from the tide and she let out a baited breath.

The youkai lord rolled back, springing up on the third roll and jumping through the air. He fell upon Naraku, thrusting his sword down, and the hanyou fell to the ground with the sword running through his upper shoulder area. Sesshomaru twisted the blade causing blood to spurt out in a gruesome way and Kagome had to close her eyes for a moment, unable to stomach the image.

When she opened them again Sesshomaru had been pushed back some four feet from the hanyou and Naraku was kneeling and breathing heavily, but still in the fight. They glared each other down, a battle of wills that neither could possibly win. Then, as if a silent signal had been sounded, both bolted towards the other. Kagome watched in mortified awe as Naraku raised his fist and jabbed another dart near Sesshomaru's neck.

He ignored it, spinning out and around his opponent on the left side to swing out in a wide arc and slice his body in half. The shocked look on Naraku's face was priceless but didn't last long as the lord took his sword and thrust it through the top of his skull. He bent over, plucking something from within the monster and then the body burst into a mass of dusty remains.

What was left of Naraku floated away on the winds.

Kagome watched as Sesshomaru walked towards her, he looked extremely exhausted and very upset. Had she done something wrong? He motioned to her with his hand; within it was a large chunk of the shikon jewel. With a gasp she ran out of the water as quickly as she could.

She did not take the shard. Her arms wound their way around his shoulders and she shivered between cold, delight, and the echoes of worried pangs. "I was so afraid for you."

He did not move, merely looked down at her and then took her hand in his, placing the jewel within her palm. It slowly faded from the purple-black hue to a bright pink and she sighed in contentment. Only three shards should be missing now. Her journey was almost complete.

Looking up she noticed how extremely worn Sesshomaru looked. He lowered himself on the sand and sat there, staring out at the ocean with eyes full of emotion and contemplation. His face was oddly slack now; every wrinkle and every movement could be seen. She kneeled next to him, waiting for him to speak.

"When you complete the jewel you will have to return home." His voice was different now, it was still deep and sultry but he sounded afraid. She sighed and sat down a little more, trying to get comfortable.

"I'm not really sure. There's no instruction manual for this sort of stuff." He snorted and her eyes widened at his odd sort of reaction. Why was he being so relaxed now? "Sesshomaru is something wrong?"

He nodded slowly and his eyes darted over her face before turning back to look at the waters ahead. "This Sesshomaru is going to die." She gasped and her hand flew up to cover her mouth.

"No! I mean, what do you mean? How?" She could feel the beginnings of hot tears in her eyes and she shivered when she felt him reach up and wipe them away.

Then he laughed, all out laughed; she looked at him through her side vision and she saw that he was not laughing at her but at his situation. Did he think his death was funny? "Naraku. He knew I would kill him so he took a measure to assure that I would go down, too. The first dart wasn't much, but once I remove the second I'll have no chance."

Her eyes shifted to the silvery needle that still remained embedded in his neck. "Sesshomaru, what is this?" He sighed and shifted a little before looking at her.

"They're poisoned, Kagome. With the amount that entered my body before, plus what's in it now I can feel the sickness taking over me already. Because this one is still within me it's keeping the main bout of the poison from rushing through my body again. But, once I pull it out and back through the vein it will kill me with that final blow."

She shook her head violently as tears began to stream down her face. "No! You can't! No!" He reached out and pulled her to him, holding her while she sobbed.

"I'm sorry Kagome." Then he reached up and grasped around the dart. Her hands came up to his, trying to stop him. He shook his head and placed a finger on her lips to silence her desperate sobs. He pulled the dart out and thrust it towards the sea. It was only a matter of time.

She shivered more and he pulled her closer, wrapping himself around her. "Will it hurt much?" Her shaky voice asked, trying her best to remain alert but failing miserably.

"No. As long as you're with me, it won't hurt at all." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and she cried even harder, if that was possible for her fragile body to do. He laughed again, a bittersweet type of laugh, and she gave him a questioning look. "It would appear that this Sesshomaru has fallen under the family curse."

She frowned and tried to ask between sobs: "What do you mean?"

He smiled down at her and his breathing became more labored with each breath. She ran a hand over his cheek, trying to remember what he looked like here and now. "To have…" A cough raked his body and blood came out in a gruesome clump. "have fallen…"

"No. Don't talk! Stay with me…" Her voice was soft and shattered, trying her best to hang onto him. He shook violently with the next cough, eyes closing halfway, and then he looked up at her; partially hidden amber gaze searing through her as if he were trying to commit her to his memory.

"..for a human." A wheezing breath and another cough before his body fell over in silence. She held him up, clinging with whitened fingers to his body in an attempt to hold him longer.

Then her emotions spiked and she felt a warm sensation run through her body. The area glowed brightly and before she knew what was going on the dusty remains of her lover slipped through her fingers to float away on the relentless winds.

She shivered and looked out towards the sea. It hadn't been her intent; she had only realized the depth of her feelings at that moment. Her miko abilities were so fickle, how could she have known? How could she have known that the moment she would realize she loved him she would purify him into nothing. 


	23. XXIII

Chapter Twenty-Three: They Call the Wind Mariah

A few moments passed, her sobs had died down and now she kneeled there in the sand, mouth agape in a silent scream. Her hands still out, holding onto nothing and everything; longing for the touch that could never be anymore.

They found her there, moonlight striking against her shocked expression, hair whipping about her face angrily. Her body trembled slightly and they all watched as she fell into the sand, fists clenching in the rough granules and face buried within her silken covered knees.

Nobody went to her, all were afraid of what had happened and what may happen. The purified remains of youkai could be seen floating about lazily in the area. Everyone wondered what had happened.

Then, before anyone could talk him out of it, Koga ran to her. He called out to her and she looked up, hollow eyes staring at him lifelessly. "Kagome! What happened?"

The wolf prince stood over her, looking down at the broken woman that had once been so vibrant. She closed her eyes for a moment and then smiled lightly, a fake and heart wrenchingly wrong smile. "They're gone."

"They?" Ayame questioned before she could stop herself and she covered her mouth with her hand with a squeak when the miko looked towards her with that empty gaze.

"The two most influential youkai in my life; the one I hated the most, Naraku. He died when the shikon that he was using to keep himself alive was removed from his tattered body." She pointed over to where the hanyou had fallen and then turned her gaze to look out over the ocean. Her voice cracked slightly and became a whisper as she began to tremble again. "And the one I loved the most. I had only realized it myself, but the poison was too quick and he went before I could tell him. I was… holding him. And then… I… my powers; I don't know how it happened! He was there and then he was gone!"

Of the guests there several were in disbelief, most were merely shocked, a couple sick. This human female had watched one of their strongest die from a mere poison? Worse, there was no proof to her words other than the floating ash that haunted the area.

Koga knelt down and pulled Kagome in for a hug but she shoved against him and fell over into the sand. "Don't touch me! Don't you get it? I could kill you!" Her voice was rough and it echoed though the mountains sending a wave of birds into the night sky.

Before anyone could do anything more she stood, stumbling upon herself, and ran into the woods. "Kagome! Come back Kagome!" Koga cried out to her and Ayame went to him, worry on her face.

"She probably doesn't even know that she's running westward." Everyone turned to look where the young miko had run off, wondering if she would live to see the dawn.

Or if she even cared.

Three weeks had passed. InuYasha fidgeted uncomfortably behind Sesshomaru's desk, staring down at the papers before him with a dull gaze. Nobody had seen Kagome since she had run off.

They had got the word from Koga, he came running up to the western palace and had demanded to see him. Everyone thought it a little strange that he had asked for InuYasha and not the lord of the castle himself. But he had gone, expecting to hear some sort of demand or be challenged into a fight.

Instead the wolf had done the unexpected. He told the small entourage of friends what had happened. How Sesshomaru and Kagome had arrived at the party only to end in a horrible fate with the death of both Naraku and Sesshomaru. InuYasha wasn't sure which death affected him more.

He had strove so hard to obtain Naraku's demise, in a way he was partially bitter at his brother for taking his victory. However, he had never wished for his brother to die. Despite their arguments and his harsh words to his elder brother, he had more dignity than to wish a death on such a great opponent in life. Who would be there to strike him down when his ego was getting the better of him now?

Kagome; she had run away. Her purification powers had spiked with her realization of her emotions and she had purified Sesshomaru into ash. Her heart was probably in turmoil he could never imagine and she was out there, defenseless.

Looking across the study to the window seat he watched the sunlight glitter off the two blades that rested there. Tokijin had to be chained and dragged here; it would allow no one to touch it deeming their strength below it. Tenseiga merely sat there. It appeared to have lost some of its luster, as if it mourned for the loss of it's only master and companion. It, too, would not allow another to command it.

His gaze traveled back to the desk where there were two jewel shards sitting there, glowing brightly and twinkling as if nothing were the matter. Koga had surprised them all by handing over his shards in the end. He said that he was only sorry that he could not do more for the woman who had taught him how special love was.

InuYasha blinked and stared at them a while longer before turning his gaze to the final item he dreaded in this room. A piece of parchment, it sat there innocently with its words resting on it as if they held simple news. This paper, once he signed it, would make him lord of the west.

If he didn't sign it then his lands, his father's lands, his brother's lands… it would be up for grabs to any youkai who may want it. Inwardly he suspected Koga would take over, he was the next most likely candidate. But something in him growled possessively over that idea.

There was no way anyone but his blood, even if it be his half-human tainted blood, that would rule these lands! He picked up the brush and signed it, the magic of the document accepting his strokes and taking effect.

Slowly the blue crescent moon appeared on his forehead, a symbol of inherited power over the lands. InuYasha reached out and grasped the two jewel shards in his hand before rushing out of the room. "I won't let you down any more father; and you either, brother. This land is ours!" 


	24. XXIV

Chapter Twenty-Four: Rebirth of a Woman

He found Miroku and Shippo first; they were sitting in the garden solemnly planting the flowers that Kagome had ordered them to plant just days ago. It was the least they could do for her. When he rushed into the area they looked up, eyes widening at the symbol that rested on his forehead.

"So you decided." Miroku said softly, no anger or joy in his tone. InuYasha nodded and then looked around for anyone else before turning back to his companions.

"We're going to go look for her. But before we find her we're going to have to go get…" He glanced around once more, quickly checking, and then turning back to the monk and kitsune. "Kohaku. Naraku has been killed so the boy is probably barely making it. We're going to have to get that jewel shard from him."

They nodded in silent agreement. "Maybe you should ask Sango to stay here and keep an eye on Rin; since we heard that Sesshomaru died she's been crying in her room non-stop." Shippo suggested and InuYasha was slightly surprised at how mature he was about the whole situation. He had looked on Kagome as if she were a mother, why was he not upset about this?

"That sounds like a very good plan, Shippo. InuYasha, I'll talk with Sango and then we'll leave. I'll meet you here." The monk walked off, looking as if he were about to give someone horrible news. In a way, he was. They all knew that Sango was not stupid, she would see through their plan eventually.

Hopefully they would be long gone before then.

Sango sat in the dining hall and watched the child stare lifelessly at the food before her. She had reverted back to her mute state and sometimes Sango had to stare extra hard to assure that she was still breathing.

The death of the stoic lord had killed more than just a youkai. She sighed a little and her gaze traveled around, trying to find something to catch her interest.

Lucky for her at that moment Maeko, Kagome's young inu handmaiden, came running into the room heaving for breath. "She's back! Come quick!" Before anyone could say anything the girl ran back out of the room and down the halls, screaming out in a joyful tone. "She's back!"

Sango and Rin both were up in an instant and darting after the maid, curiosity and hope driving them to run faster. They came into the foyer, the main doors were open and beyond she could see that it was pouring rain. Then Sango looked at the woman standing in the doorway and gasped.

Kagome stood there, sure enough, but she looked so little like her! This woman had wild hair that was caked with mud and ran down her back and over her eyes in a messy pile. Her clothes, once a fine purple silk kimono, were ripped to shreds and all that remained was the now dirtied cream cotton of her inner kimono. It had been slashed into bits, one sleeve was completely missing, the other was jaggedly cut down and the seam was torn open at the top revealing a bruised shoulder beneath. The skirt had been ripped in half, leaving barely any of her body covered and the top only barely closed.

Her skin was covered in cuts and bruises, gashes and nicks. Her hands were worn and her nails were dirty and long, broken and harsh. This was certainly not the Kagome they knew. Sango let out a cry for the pain of her friend and then reached out to her, taking her hands in hers and leading her into her home.

"Let's get you a bath, Kagome." All together, her appearance was mostly dirty but when her eyes turned up to look into Sango's there was the proof of her pain. She was dead inside; her blue eyes had deepened to a near black color.

The miko nodded slowly and allowed herself to be led into the bath. She merely stood there, letting Maeko and Sango bathe her and dress her up. When they were finished she started to pad out of the room and both the girls followed her curiously.

First she entered the study, looking around with a forlorn look on her face. She sighed when she saw the parchment with InuYasha's signature on it. So he had decided to do it, which was good. Sesshomaru wouldn't have wanted a stranger taking over.

Then she saw the swords, walking over to them and smiling down on them. Her hand went out to stroke the blades with her fingertips and her audience inhaled sharply and moved to stop her but stilled when they noticed that she was not being repelled by the swords. Kagome's eyes seemed to light a little as her fingers touched Tenseiga and she smiled a little more whispering to it: "I know; me too."

"Um. Kagome? Would you like to eat? Dinner was just served." Sango asked, hoping that she would come and join them for a meal. It had probably been some time since she had last ate something substantial.

"Yes, go eat miss. Then I've got something to show you. I think you'll be very happy to see it." Maeko said, earning her a confused glance from Sango but she merely shrugged and smiled.

After they ate all the women, Kagome, Sango, and Rin followed Maeko up the stairs. She led them to the library and then turned suddenly before opening the doors. "Close your eyes, my lady."

Kagome sighed but did as she was told and then followed her lead when Maeko led her through the doors. She stopped her about halfway in the room and then opened the curtains, allowing light to shine in the once dark room.

"Oh my god." She heard Sango whisper. Apparently it was something very good. "Open your eyes, Kagome."

When she did she nearly started to cry again. There, across from her on an easel, was a large canvas. The painting had not been completed but it was clear who the painter was.

An image of Kagome, like she had never seen herself, hair down and shining and eyes slightly flashing beneath lashes was looking back at them. She let out a little laugh and went up to touch the dried paint, running her fingers along the beautiful curves and rich colors. "I told him to get a hobby."

"He started it before you left for that party, miss. I think he was planning on hanging it up in here when he was finished with it. We weren't allowed to come in here, but after we were told…told of our loss… we came in here to clean and found it." Maeko said, trying her best not to remind Kagome that her husband was now dead.

She smiled slightly and then looked around the room. "Leave it. I want it to stay like it was when he was last in here. That way whenever we come in here a part of him will never… die." With the last word she padded off again, nobody followed her this time.

They found her standing in a heavily wooded area, waiting for them it seemed. Her raven hair was tied back neatly, as usual, and swayed slowly with the breeze.

She turned her cold gaze to view the three males, a hanyou, a monk, and a kitsune. Raising an eyebrow slightly she smiled a little at them and held out a near completed shikon jewel in her hand.

"Give me the final piece. I know you have it." Her voice was cold and emotionless but firm and demanding.

InuYasha glared at her and shook his head. "How did you get that?" She looked up at him and her eyes seemed to waver slightly before she looked down to the ground, unable to see him for long.

"The girl gave it to me. She said that she had no use for it now and that I would know what to do with it better than anyone else." She sighed a little and looked back up at InuYasha with a pleading look on her face. "Give me the shard, InuYasha."

"What will you do with it when it's complete, Kikyo?" 


	25. XXV

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Elixir

Kagome woke in a sweat, screaming out in fright. Her mind had been reliving that moment when she had felt that last bit of him slip from between her fingers. Why had her miko flared up like that?

Was this some sort of cruel punishment for her? She sighed and turned in the bed, unable to sleep again. Sitting up she looked out the window. The storm was not giving up. What had been just heavy rain had quickly turned into a thunderstorm and the loud rumbles shook through the castle and lit the room with an eerie glow.

Standing she stared out the window for a moment before turning to wander down the halls. She entered the study and sat in the chair next to his, holding her hand out towards him but he was not there. With a sigh her eyes wandered the darkened room until they landed on the swords lying so peacefully.

Walking over to them she held her fingertips over them and then ran them gently down Tenseiga. It cried out to her, begging for her to return it to its master, but she knew not what to tell it. She sighed and looked at it carefully before gingerly taking the hilt into her right hand.

It burned for a moment but then stopped and merely hummed before her in all its glory. A life giving sword; how wonderful. How useless. "I kept you from saving him." The sword thrummed lightly and she smiled as hot tears began to stream down her face again.

She walked back towards her room, sword still in her hand, but took a detour and instead entered the main bedroom chamber. It was dimly lit but she ignored it and climbed into his bed, relishing in the scent that was uniquely his own. Pulling the sword to hold it to her chest she sighed a little, comforted somewhat by the presence of something that belonged to him.

Reaching down she pulled the covers up over her body and then got comfortable. She reached up, holding the sword above her and for a moment she saw it glisten in the lightning's glow. Then she thrust it down, into her chest, and the sword impaled her body. Her arms fell limp to the sides and she lay back, smiling as she felt the life begin to leave her.

"Sesshomaru." She whispered softly and closed her eyes, waiting for her death. But the life giving sword could not grant her wish, its master had not only felt sympathy for this creature he had felt love.

Tenseiga had a duty and it would fulfill it, even if the recipient did not appreciate the idea. The blade began to glow bright and the room was filled with a magical haze before it faded, and then nothing happened. She lie there in his bed, sword standing above her.

The next morning Maeko found her there and screamed. Sango came running in, followed by Rin, and went to hold the inu girl to console her. However, the child shocked them both from their cries when she whispered an amazed sentence. "She's still breathing."

Sango felt herself still and looked carefully, just to make sure the child wasn't imagining things. Sure enough, Kagome's chest still rose slightly but her eyes would not open. "She's in a magical slumber. Like InuYasha was, she told me about that once. Kikyo had shot him with an arrow and instead of killing him, because of her love for him; it merely put him into a permanent stasis. He hung from that tree for fifty years before Kagome found him and freed him."

Maeko had heard of the young prince's plight but had always thought it was just a fantasy story. She looked up at the slayer with curious eyes. "But who will free Lady Kagome?"

Once she had explained herself they relinquished the final three shards to Kikyo and she held the pieces within her hands, merging them. "Thank you."

She turned to leave the area and InuYasha called out to her. "Kikyo! When… when you're ready, I'll be waiting for you."

The woman turned to smile at him and shook her head lightly. Then she ran off before anyone could say more.

Kikyo rushed from them, unable to bear being near him any longer; too much more time in his presence and she would not be able to grant the wish she knew she had to. Holding the shikon near her breast she sighed and silently made her wish.

"I wish for all those wronged by Naraku, the hanyou who sought the shikon jewel for evil purposes, to be returned to their previous state, free of the pains they had once born."

A flash of light and a burst of power and then Kikyo felt the jewel shoot off into the distance, away from her; to its home within its miko protector. Then she felt a light tingle cover her body. Slowly, painfully, she took a deep breath and the motion burned in her lungs. Pain, that meant only one thing; she was alive! 


	26. XXVI

Chapter Twenty-Six: Love Story

"Kagome once told me a story; she said it was from our future but that it was a fairy tale of her own past. It was kind of like this." Everyone turned to look at the young kitsune boy, some giving him odd glances but most simply curious.

"Really? What was it called?" Rin asked, too curious to remain silent.

Shippo sat for a moment; brow furrowed and tried to remember just what it was called. "Oh yeah. Sleeping Beauty. Silly name, huh? How can anyone look pretty when they sleep?" Both children laughed but the adults in the room merely smiled at their innocence.

"So how's this story similar to what's going on here?" Miroku asked. Shippo smiled and tried his best to remember the details of the tale.

"Well, it has a princess who has been cursed to sleep eternally when she turns sixteen, that's how old Kagome is. There is only one way that the girl can wake up, she must be kissed by the man she was destined for and only he may release her."

Sango sighed and lowered her gaze, feeling tears push at her eyes. "So she'll never wake up."

"Maybe that rule doesn't apply here. Kagome released InuYasha, after all, and now we all know that they were not destined to be more than friends. Perhaps it is just an elaboration." Miroku said with a hopeful tone to his voice.

InuYasha nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's worth a shot to let everyone here try something to wake her up. We all care about her, so there's no point in sitting around and doing nothing."

The next they knew they all stood in the master bedroom, staring down at Kagome. She looked so peaceful there. A voice broke their uncomfortable silence, a voice that hadn't been there before.

"She tried to kill herself?" Everyone turned to look at the new occupant, surprise and eyes widening when they saw them there; alive and well.

InuYasha's brow furrowed and he stared for a moment more. "Kikyo?"

The woman blushed slightly and looked away from him, back to the slumbering woman with the sword within her chest. "This is very bad. Worse than what I did to you. Even when she wakes she will only die due to the wounds."

"We have to do something; we can't just wait around for some miracle to happen!" Sango screamed at the woman. She had never liked Kikyo; she always acted like she knew everything and that irritated her.

Kikyo lowered her gaze, eyes wavering slightly before she turned to leave the room. "Do as you will. You have no reason to trust me. Just know that your efforts will be futile and useless waste of time."

Sesshomaru took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes to see the milky light of the dawn mingle among the stars overhead. He heard the sound of the waves washing nearby and felt the heat of the sand beneath him.

He was on the beach, the same beach he had fought Naraku on. What had happened? Where was Kagome? Sitting up and quickly looking around he noticed that no one was round for miles. Reaching down he felt for his swords only to find nothing, curious.

A frown marred his face in confusion. Had he missed something?

He decided to head back to the party, maybe Kagome had gone back and he had fallen asleep without knowing? Why would she have left him like that? After fighting Koga and generally expressing his feelings for her to the public he expected her to stay by him, not run off the moment his guard was down!

That girl was seriously going to get it when he saw her next. Her constant fleeing was becoming a nuisance. His thoughts on what sorts of punishments Kagome could receive ended when he entered the cleared out field. Apparently the party had been over and removed for some time. That was a little odd; the wolf clan was known for their overdrawn celebrations…why would they pack up in just a few hours?

Walking through the field carefully he stopped and turned when he heard someone inhale sharply in fright. Looking at the young wolf girl he could see her trembling in complete fear. "What is the matter, Ayame?"

Her breathing became more ragged and her eyes grew wide. "Are you here to haunt me for what I did to you!" She squeaked out and then winced and closed her eyes tightly. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen! Just go away, please!"

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. Had the girl gone mental? What was she moaning about? She hadn't done anything to him. "This Sesshomaru has no idea what you are talking about. Please stop your ridiculous behaviors and show me to my entourage so that we may leave."

"Leave? You want to go home?" Ayame's brow furrowed in confusion and she opened one eye to look at the inu lord curiously. For a spirit he was awfully dirty and quite opaque. She tried to remember what her grandmother had told her about spirits and hauntings but he spoke, scaring her mind into numbness again.

"This Sesshomaru grows tired of your useless banter. Merely show me to my wife and then leave me be." She shook under the intensity of his order and nodded, pointing westward.

"Forgive me, Lord Sesshomaru, I never meant to upset you. Lady Kagome has already journeyed to the west, presumably to go home." She closed her eyes again, tightly, and looked away. He heard her mumbling under her breath about "evil spirits going away." and felt a little bit of pity for the future generation of the wolf clan.

Without another word he went westward, sniffing the air in an attempt to pick up on Kagome's scent but none could be found. He frowned and continued through the woods, thoughts on the raven haired woman he claimed as his own. She had run home, apparently. Ignorant female; she would definitely pay for putting him to shame by making him leave a social function alone.

A malicious grin crept onto his face as he contemplated just how he would make her pay. 


	27. XXVII

Chapter Twenty-Seven: I Thought the Sun Rose in Your Eyes

Koga exited the cave to go for a run when he noticed Ayame, bowed over and eyes closed as if she were waiting to be struck. Looking around there was nobody there, just the girl shivering and mumbling to herself. "Uh. Ayame?"

She squeaked in surprise and finally fell over onto the ground, lifting herself up with her hand she glanced around quickly before letting a sigh a relief flood her. "Oh good. He's gone."

"Who's gone?" Ayame turned her head slowly to see Koga squatting next to her, giving her a curious look. She blushed and shook her head, saying she didn't want to talk about it. Why did he have to get so close to her when he asked her questions?

Kikyo sat in the library, looking at the painting and admiring the work. It really was lovely and she had to admit that, in this view, she was no comparison to the beautiful woman. Somehow, it didn't surprise her that the stoic lord had that sort of impression about her reincarnation.

It was a little odd to think about. Here she was, hopelessly in love with a snotty half demon prince who couldn't admit his own feelings if his life depended on it. Her whole life revolved around him and the depth of her emotions towards him. And yet… in the distant future she would become a scrawny woman-child who was completely unable to fend for herself and knew next to nothing… only to ensnare the love of a heartless youkai lord.

Not to mention the fact that her present lover and her future lover were half brothers. That was entirely too creepy for her mind. Her thoughts were interrupted when InuYasha entered the room with a dejected look. His plan hadn't worked.

With an inaudible sigh Kikyo stood and went over to him, holding her arms open in a silent gesture of welcome. He grabbed her roughly and pulled her to him, crushing her within his grasp as he sighed and inhaled her scent deeply. "What will happen now?"

She leaned back to look up at him and smiled lightly. "We wait." He frowned at that with an entirely confused expression and she laughed, bringing her hand up to run her fingertips over his forehead. No moon rested there. His eyes got wide with realization and she found herself being dragged behind him to the nearest mirror only to have him stare in shock at his own reflection. Nothing was different about him, really. He was the same old InuYasha but that image was so comforting.

Then another reflection was seen in the rear, behind them, and InuYasha quirked a little smile. "Took you long enough."

Sesshomaru frowned and glared at his brother's back. "Where is she?" Both InuYasha and Kikyo winced a little at his tone, he was not happy and now he would be even angrier. Kikyo gestured out with her hand, down the hall.

"In your chambers, Lord Sesshomaru." The stoic lord brushed past them quickly and InuYasha growled low at his miko lover.

"Why didn't you tell him?" She sighed and looked up at him, hoping for understanding from him.

"Would you have believed it?"

His room was oddly occupied. With a glare and a glance he sent them all running from the room, most with shocked expressions. Something had happened; he seemed to be getting those looks a lot lately.

He decided to ignore it and turned away from the doorway to look down at the bed and then sighed. What the hell was this? Here was his wife, lying in his bed; not that he minded that at all; but his sword, Tenseiga, was jabbed through her chest.

With a growl he reached out and grasped the hilt of the sword. If the woman thought for one instant that this would save her from his wrath she was sorely mistaken. He pulled and the magical barrier shattered around them causing a rain of purple energy to fill the room.

Then she inhaled quickly, opening her eyes to glance over at him and she smiled. "Sesshomaru, I'm coming to you." She whispered through her dry and cracked lips. It was soft, barely there, and he had to strain to hear it.

A frown marred his face and he glared at her, ready to yell at her for her ignorance only to stop at his own. He had removed the sword. She was dying. He could smell her blood, heavy and intoxicating, and hear her faint heartbeat lose its rhythm.

No. This couldn't be allowed! "Why have you done this again?" He roared out as he set the sword aside and reached down to lift her delicate body into his arms. She was so pale. His heart clenched and he growled again, loud and possessive, it echoed through the halls and out into the wilderness.

Her lips moved, barely, and he lowered his head so that his ear was near her mouth when she spoke. "I only..only wanted..to.." A shaky inhaled breath and for a moment she was silent. He shook her lightly, hoping to bring her out of her stupor. She opened her eyes again and smiled at him. "only wanted to be…with you."

What did she mean? How could…oh. It suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks and his world went off kilter for a moment before righting itself back to its previous state. He had died. Vaguely he recalled her standing in the water; Naraku poised for attack; a tiny silver dart protruding from his shoulder. But he wasn't dead now! He was alive!

Another growl, low and anguished, he grasped her jaw tightly and turned her to face him through half lidded eyes. "Kagome, when this is over and you have been revived I wish you to swear to me that you will never do something so foolish again!"

She frowned slightly but merely nodded, unable to truly comprehend him. He lay her down again and then stood, lifting his sword in his hand. It thrummed happily and he glared at it for the childish act before looking back down to the woman in the bed. Somewhere between the moments he lay her down and lifted the sword she had slipped away.

Now she was covered in the tiny demons, ready to remove her from this world once more. He growled out and lifted Tenseiga before thrusting it down sharply. "Nobody takes what is mine!"

A few moments passed, he set the sword down to rest against the wall and then stood there, looking down on her. Her breathing was even and she turned slightly, curling up before the cold became too much and she entered awareness again. Lashes fluttered open to reveal sapphire depths and she lifted them to look at him, a gentle smile playing across her face.

"Sesshomaru." Her hand reached up to him and he took it within his own, running his fingertips over the warmed flesh. "I had the weirdest dream."

He laughed lightly and then turned to close the door to the room, bolting it firmly. She frowned at his odd behavior but did not question him, merely watched as he walked to the windows and pulled the curtains closed, thrusting them into semi-darkness.

Through the haze of the light that streamed through the gaps in the curtains she could see him walk over to where she was and then sit on the bed next to her. She gasped when he reached out and ran the backs of his fingers along her face for a moment, and then he smiled. "Kagome. I have told you several times that you are not allowed to leave me."

Her eyes widened in surprise. Was he angry with her? Did she do something to upset him? His smile widened and she gasped as he reached down to her, fingers going behind her head. He was going to punish her! Her eyes closed tightly, preparing for the assault.

What came instead would shock her into a submission that no man could ever hope to obtain in a woman. 


	28. XXVIII & XXIX

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Seduction of the Soul could not be posted here on due to reglations in regards to lemons. I have opted to merely skip this chapter and move on to the next. I believe it is rather apparent what happened in the last chapter and the removal of it does not detract from the story. If you would like to read this chapter feel free to check it out on A Single Spark, a Kagome and Sesshomaru website 

Now. On to...

Chapter Twenty-Nine: For Fear Your Grace Should Fall

They watched him enter the library, stoic mask in place but an all about satisfied movement to his body. Nobody was entirely sure what had happened between the two lovers.

Miroku, of course, had insisted on the carnal pleasures of a reunited couple but InuYasha had quickly thrown that theory aside stating that Sesshomaru seemed to be angry with Kagome, as if she had done something to upset him. So, the entire group was a little worried for their friend and slightly confused by the lord's silence.

He wasn't giving them any clues as to what had happened. Merely walked up to his painting and began to work on it again. Forty minutes of silence broken only by the tinkling of paint jars and the rough etching sound of brush strokes against the canvas passed before several looked up to the doorway, the sound of footsteps pattering along the halls.

Rin entered the room and ran up to Sesshomaru, clinging to his legs and mumbling happily. He merely patted her on the head and continued to paint, not saying anything to her. "Lord Sesshomaru! Rin missed you so much! Rin knew that it couldn't be possible for you to die!" Tears began run down her small face and she wiped at them with her sleeve before continuing. "Jaken sent Rin in here to tell everyone that dinner is served."

Sesshomaru nodded but did not make any motion to leave, the rest of the group left him there to go to their meal. However, Sango strayed behind for a moment to glance at the painting he was working so intently on. He had painted Kagome very beautifully, how he felt about her was obvious from the sensual appearance of her. But it was very strange; it seemed that he was painting her arm in an unusual position.

With a shake of the head she decided it wasn't worth bothering him for, she would find out eventually. They all went to dinner, expecting the lord and his wife to join them shortly.

Ten more minutes passed and he was finished with his painting. He smiled down at his work and turned his head to the side, eyeing it carefully. She had been right, creating something did wonders to help deal with the passing time and it was also a good stress reliever. Setting his brush down he decided he should probably go wake her, it was time to eat and she would need food now.

Quietly he entered the room and looked down at the bed, the blankets had been drawn up far and he smirked a little. She was trying to block out the light. Reaching down he grasped at the blanket and began to pull it down. Slowly the cloth trailed along the pillows, then fell to the smooth sheets below for a moment only to come back up across the pillow that she had been clutching.

Panic raced through him and he yanked the blanket away, throwing it across the room to reveal the empty bed. She was not there. He reached down, placing his hand upon the bed and felt that it was still somewhat warm but was cooling quickly. Where was she?

"Kagome?" His voice sounded foreign to him, worry and concern laced in his tone and his eyes darted around the room, expecting to see her there. It was too dark in here! He raced over and shoved the curtains over, bathing the room in the light of the evening sun. No Kagome.

A growl began deep in his throat and he felt it escape through his clenched lips as he marched out of the room, into the sitting room and out into the corridor. Every room he passed he looked into, hoping to find her there doing some stupid thing. She wasn't there.

He came to the dining hall and stormed in, startling those who were sitting at the table. Rice dribbled down InuYasha's chin and Shippo nearly choked on his bite, coughing heavily. The occupants of the table turned to him in concern and when he had overcome his fits they all turned to see Sesshomaru nearly running through the room, looking around for something.

With a half whimper half growl he thrust open the door to the kitchen, the last room he had to look in, and nearly killed his cooks with the impending heart attack of seeing his eyes seep to red. He was pissed. "WHERE IS SHE!"

Kikyo inhaled sharply and muttered a quiet. "No!" Everyone turned to look at her curiously but it was the sharp gaze of the youkai lord which she flinched from. "The Shikon, I used it to wish away the wrongdoings of Naraku." Looking up at his enraged face she was suddenly worried for her own life. "It sent her back."

Before anyone could do or say another word the enraged inu ran from the room and they could hear him storm out of the palace. InuYasha rushed over to the window and watched as his brother run, transforming into his dog form and then disappearing into the forest. "Well. Any ideas on what to do now?"

"We need to investigate first. Kagome was here after the wish on the jewel so we need to figure out what happened to send her away." Miroku said as he stood and began to head for Sesshomaru's sleeping chambers.

Sango followed him, telling the children to go to bed on her way out, and then stopped him by grabbing onto his sleeve. He turned to question her but stopped when he noticed her staring in shock at something. Turning his vision to follow her gaze he saw that they were just outside of the recently vacated library.

On the easel was the painting of Kagome but it was different. Within her arms was a bundle, at first glance it looked to be an odd lump of cloth. However, further time in examining the portrait revealed a shocking bit of information.

"Miroku! Do you think that…" She didn't finish. She didn't have to. He nodded slowly and then turned to continue to the bed chamber. It was fairly obvious to them now why Sesshomaru was so upset by Kagome's disappearance.

"Kagome, honey, wake up." A voice entered her mind, hazy and slightly broken. She turned in towards the pillows, trying to find the furry blankets that covered her bed.

Her fingertips touched the smooth and cool cotton comforter that was over her shoulders already. Kagome's eyes shot open in surprise and immediately closed against the brightness of the light overhead. "Where am I?" She half mumbled and again the voice spoke to her.

"In the hospital, sweetheart; we found you at the bottom of the well. If that cat hadn't run in there again Sota may have never seen you! You're burning with fever and shaking horribly, Kagome. There's no telling how long you were out there!" It was her mother, that's who was speaking to her in these soft but concerned tones. Slowly she opened her eyes to reveal the image of the older woman sitting next to her on the bed.

A man entered the room, a young doctor by the looks of him and he bowed slightly and then walked over to the bedside. "So you've awoken. How do you feel?"

"Horrible. My head hurts." Kagome mumbled out and closed her eyes again. Everything felt heavy. Had it all been some weird dream? No. That couldn't be. She had been there with him. He must be going mad with rage by now at her disappearance.

The doctor motioned for Kagome's mother to step outside for a word in private and Kagome took the time to ponder on just why she had been sent back. She guessed it was the working of the Shikon. During her running through the western forest to her home she had found Kikyo and given the priestess the jewel to do with as she pleased. Her guess was that she had wished for Naraku's wrongdoings to have been undone. The persons affected would remember but the physical pains would be removed. She supposed remembering could be worth the price you pay, assuring that Naraku would never haunt them again.

But at the idea of just… forgetting Sesshomaru, her heart ached terribly. Then something caught her attention and she strained her hearing to listen in on the conversation just outside the door. "...she'll probably recover quickly yet there's something odd that we found. Mrs. Higurashi, I know this might seem rude but; is there a chance that your daughter could be having some sort of relationship problem that lead to her abused state?"

Kagome's brow furrowed in confusion and then she looked down at herself, noticing the way she appeared. Her body was covered in cuts, bruises, scratches, tears. Naturally they would assume she had been abused somehow, but why a relationship? Focusing on the conversation she missed her mother's answer but caught the doctor's pleading reply. "Yes, Mrs. Higurashi, I can understand how you'd feel about the idea of that. Unfortunately there's no easy way to say this. Your daughter is most certainly pregnant." 


	29. XXX

Chapter Thirty: Investigations for Hope

Sango felt the first few teardrops stream down her face as she buried her head into the waiting man's shoulder. She hadn't cried much over the past few weeks, it had all been too much for her, but this new bit of information was so impacting that she couldn't help it.

Kagome wasn't coming back. They had tried everything, thought of everything, searched high and low and to no avail. Every one of their attempts failed miserably. Today, this hour, this moment, they chose to give up on her. To leave her where she was, trying to comfort in the knowledge that she would at least be happy.

She and Miroku had ripped through the room, finding proof lay in the sheets of the bed that yes, Sesshomaru and Kagome had consummated their relationship once and for all just moments before the woman's disappearance. Once no more physical evidence could be found they returned to the library to find InuYasha and Kikyo discussing something quite heatedly.

Both of them quieted down when they entered the room and gave the monk pointed stares, questioning what they had found. Miroku merely shook his head slowly and they both sighed and sat down uncomfortably. "So any idea on how exactly this happened?" InuYasha grumbled; he was very upset lately.

Miroku sat down on a small loveseat, drawing Sango down to semi lean on him and then turned his attention to his hanyou friend. "I have one theory." The room went oddly quiet and all the occupants looked up at him, waiting in earnest. "Well, we all guessed that the shikon, once used would return Kagome to her appropriate timeline. However, I would think that the real question lie in why she had remained after the jewel's use for so long?"

"Yeah, and what do you think is the reason for that?" InuYasha was getting impatient.

"I believe it was Tenseiga that had kept her here. When the jewel was wished upon Kagome was in stasis still, by no doing of Naraku, so the power of the shikon had no effect on her yet. But when Sesshomaru arrived and released her from the slumber… we can only assume that she died and he revived her again with the sword as he will probably never tell us what really occurred… then the magical barrier that Tenseiga created would be weakened."

Kikyo nodded and sat forward a little. "That makes sense. For the time she was here and with Lord Sesshomaru it was merely because the powers of Tenseiga were creating a counter to the power of the shikon."

The monk smiled a little and then continued. "Yes, exactly so, however neither of the room's occupants knew of the wish or of the effects of the Tenseiga over that wish. So they were unaware that their moments of passion would be their last together. Unless the well still transports, and it will be up to InuYasha to test that theory, there is little other chance that Lady Kagome will return."

Sango's sobbing became more intense after that and he ran a comforting hand over her back, trying his best to console her. He had never seen the strong woman so fragile before. InuYasha and Kikyo stood but the hanyou gave the woman a stern look and then rushed out of the room, leaving them behind without a word.

The miko watched him go, a worried and heartbroken look on her face. "Kikyo, not that it's any of my business but I was merely concerned for my friend; what was it you two were arguing about?" Kikyo turned to look at the monk and sighed a little, fidgeting and turning away.

"I suggested that we become true life-mates. Now that I am no longer dead it was, unfortunately, the first thing on my mind. I know it is rather selfish of me to expect happiness but I have loved him for so long now that I cannot imagine being with anyone else."

Oddly, Miroku found that he couldn't begrudge her for wishing for something like that. He had also been thinking about settling down with a certain raven haired spitfire. Now that his family curse was removed it was time to have lots of children. Not just a male to carry on the honor of defending the bloodline. A small grin traced onto his face and he looked down at the now sleeping Sango lying on his shoulder. All in due time, he supposed.

"Kagome, honey…"

She sighed and turned away. "I heard, mom."

The elder woman frowned and nodded. "Oh. Okay." She sat next to her daughter again and looked down at her. "So does InuYasha know?" The girl laughed and shook her head quickly.

"Probably not, it wouldn't matter anyway, he's not the father." A shocked look came across her mother's face and she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for how behind her mom was in all this. "It's a long story."

Her sighed and then looked away, a distant expression on her face. "You should get an abortion."

"What?" Kagome had barely whispered it but her confused expression was enough to give away how she felt. "How can you say that?"

Her mother looked back at her and suddenly Kagome felt a little sorry for her. She looked so old! Worry lines seared across her once smooth flesh and now her eyes looked haunted. "Kagome… we both know this child won't be a normal child. How can you bring a child like that into this world? He'll be ridiculed for life, hated by his peers, hated by himself. And with no father… that will just make the situation worse on both of you."

Somehow, she could see her mother's logic behind her idea but it just didn't set well with her. "No. I'm keeping my baby, mom. If you can't accept that, well then I'm okay with that. But let me know now, because I'll need to get a job and get myself set up so that I can deal with this when the time comes."

When had her daughter become so strong willed and determined? "So tell me about him." Kagome relaxed visibly and a gentle smile crossed her face before her body began to animatedly spill out her emotions along with the words of her tale. 


	30. XXXI

Chapter Thirty-One: After Visiting Hours

"Miss! You can't go in there! Miss!" A young blonde nurse called out, running up to the woman. The woman, a young looking woman herself, ignored her and her green eyes darted around the place for a moment.

"Higurashi." Her voice was beautiful but firm and commanding. It was obvious that the little nurse was not going to convince this particular visitor to leave. The girl looked towards a dry-erase board behind the station desk and sighed.

"Kagome Higurashi?" The odd red-head sharply turned to the nurse and raised an eyebrow at her. It seemed she was in a bit of a hurry.

"Yes. Are you certain that's the name?" The nurse nodded in total confusion and the woman sighed and fidgeted with her purse. "What room?"

"134" The woman turned on her heel and began to march off, down the halls. "Wait! You can't go in! It's…" Too late, she was already standing outside the doorway, seemingly hesitant to go in. The nurse watched as the strange woman stood there for a moment, taking a few deep breaths before plastering a smile on her face and stepping into the room.

Sesshomaru had returned long after dark. He hadn't wanted to speak to them or hear their theories on why Kagome was missing, he didn't care. All he knew was that she was gone.

For the first time in his life, Lord Sesshomaru felt severe grief. He missed her, terribly, and now that he had only begun to realize what she was and how much she could do for him she was already gone. Strange enough, the side of him which always grew angry with her for running now was crying out in worry.

Was she safe? Was she happy? Could she be in imminent danger? There were so many possibilities. Frightening him the most was the one little voice in the distant part of his mind which said: could she find someone to replace me? It was possible, he knew anything was possible. Especially in matters of the heart, emotions are so fickle.

But he couldn't believe that about her. It shamed him to even doubt her. She was a strong woman; there would be no need to believe she would do something so dishonorable. He would hope that she would stay faithful to him and thus he would to her, also.

It was those beliefs which lead Lord Sesshomaru to keep house with her friends from then on. He remained their caretaker, living with his brother, Kikyo, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo. As time went on, several youkai wondered why Lord Sesshomaru never took another wife, even as a second.

He could be quoted in saying: "Why settle for something inferior when I got it right the first time?"

InuYasha and Kikyo became life-mates and had several children, seven in all. Yet, their child bearing prowess was nothing compared to the young monk and his beautiful, now retired, youkai slayer bride. Sango would bear him six sons and nine daughters, fifteen children in all.

The western palace expanded and grew from there and eventually a large village that was mostly a combination of the offspring from Kikyo and Sango… as well as Rin, in the distant future, would bloom into life. Within this village the people prospered and never feared for their safety because of their silent but ever-present protector.

Sesshomaru generally ignored them. He spent most of his days in his library, painting or building other things. Over the years he had learned to build structures from the ground up, sew, cook, he even learned how to play several instruments. Kagome's words reminded him constantly that the best way to fill the lonely hours was with making something, anything, with his own two hands.

He watched them carefully, though, watched them grow and live and die. It was such an interesting part of humans. Eventually, he even watched his brother take his final breath. The now grey haired Kikyo clinging desperately to his hand. But he had not changed. He had not grown older. It would be several years before another aging process would come to him. By then, every human in the village would be dead.

And in every one of their faces he would see her. Smiling back at him, taking those little payments from him that his brother spoke so lightly of; it was ironic how the idiot had known so much of the woman and yet so little.

Kagome turned from her view of the boring program on television to look at the woman before her eyes widened and she gasped. "Ayame?"

The red head looked slightly surprised as well. Her mouth opened for a moment and then closed slightly only to open again with speech. "Is that really you, Lady Kagome?" Her tone was pleading, hoping, desperate.

The miko nodded slowly and was shocked to find the older looking wolf run up to her and hug her fiercely, but almost as if she was assuring that she wasn't seeing things. Kagome winced and the girl backed up, afraid. "Sorry. I'm still a little sore from my run around in the woods."

Laugher filled the room, a light and tinkling sound coming from the youkai woman. "I had completely forgotten that. It was just yesterday for you, wasn't it? How amazing!"

"Um… Ayame, don't take this the wrong way or anything but, why are you here?" Kagome blinked up at her and studied her face carefully.

"Oh! Well… I'm in charge of this district today. We rotate, you know, so they won't get suspicious of us. Every day one of us goes to the hospitals and schools in our assigned areas of town and asks for you." The red head blushed and looked at her with a small smile. "Hold on a moment! I need to do something!" She reached into her purse and pulled out a cell phone, pressing a button and waiting for the auto-dial.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end had not changed much. It was a little more serious but still the boyish tone that the man had always had. Ayame smiled at the phone and then at Kagome.

"Hi, honey! Guess who I found!" Silence was on the other end for a moment. Then the sound of squealing tires, a few choice cuss-words, and his voice started yelling.

"No way! Seriously! Yes! Finally! I'm going to continue the calls, sweetheart! See you later!" He hung up the phone immediately but the recipient didn't seem to mind.

Kagome watched this with a slightly amused expression. They were so cute! But this was kind of weird. "What's going on?" Ayame stopped searching through her purse to look up at Kagome oddly.

"You used to be quicker." Then she stopped for a moment and sighed. "Okay, maybe you weren't. He's been looking for you all this time, girl. The man is obsessed with you, I swear; it can't be healthy, but does he listen, no!"

"Ayame!" The woman blushed and shook her head for a moment before looking back up at the young girl. Her expression was confused but happy.

"Sweetie, Sesshomaru misses you, okay? For the past five years, because nobody was quite sure when exactly you were born so nobody knew when this day would happen, we've been sent on patrol to look for you. We created a system, every one of us would search and if one of us found you we were to call the next in line on the phone tree system that way everyone got the news. Once that was completed and the system came around full circle then we would take you home."

Kagome laughed a little nervously and closed her eyes, laying her head against her pillow with a sigh. "You guys make things too complicated. You could have just gone to my house, you know. My mom wouldn't have thought it weird or anything, she's pretty used to odd visitors by now."

Ayame shook her head and sighed. "Unfortunately, we couldn't. It was too much of a risk. We knew that your mother would take you to the hospital and that they would learn of your pregnancy. Because your baby is unique, though, you're going to find that it doesn't work the same. The doctors here will get suspicious and you'll become a guinea pig for their twisted science. So finding you here, before your mother went to retrieve you from the hospital, was important."

Suddenly her cell rang and she held up a finger to silence the miko's next question, pressing the answer button with a smile. "Hey Ginta! Yeah, our plan worked great didn't it? So I'll meet you guys there? Right. Okay!"

Once she was off the phone again she looked up at the waiting miko and smiled. "Come on. Let's get you out of here. Or do you want to keep your husband waiting longer?"

Kagome smirked and climbed out of the bed, searching for her clothes. "Oh please, Ayame. I always keep him waiting!" Both women laughed at that. 


	31. XXXII

Chapter Thirty-Two: Payment in Full

As Kagome rode in Ayame's rather practical van she watched the scenery go by while the eccentric girl hummed happily to the music, barely paying attention to the road. "Er… Ayame?" She sighed, ignored over the loud beat of the song. "Ayame!"

The red-head stopped and smiled at her. "Yes?" She reached over the turned the music down a notch or two. "Is something wrong?"

"Don't you watch where you're driving?"

"Huh? Oh!" She blushed and stared intently at the road ahead, swerving back into her lane. "Uh… yeah. Sorry, I forget that you're mortal. I'm not so good at this and so I'm always driving off the road and running into stuff. I've wrecked six vehicles… but nobody has been hurt!"

Kagome sighed and shook her head at the girl. "It's okay Ayame. Just be more careful. I'd rather not become road-kill."

They parked in the small lot that was reserved for family and guests of the shrine. It was packed but there was a space right next to her mother's, nearest the stairs, just for Ayame to park in. Kagome smiled and went to open the door, but her fingers met air.

Looking up she gasped and then threw herself on the man, laughing in delight. "Koga!" He hugged her and then helped her out of the car, smiling his usual boyish grin. She looked around to see a good majority of the wolf clan, several familiar faces dotted with new blood. Her eyes rested upon a young dark haired girl who was looking around with a bored expression and popping her gum.

Releasing her grip on Koga she walked over to the girl and smiled. "So. You two finally did it, huh?" The girl blushed profusely and glared at Kagome but she and several other wolves laughed.

Ayame came up and smiled. "This is our eldest daughter, Kohana. She has a twin somewhere." Her head was turning, looking around while mumbling under her breath. The girl sighed and jabbed a finger into the car next to the van, a little red sports coupe. In it was a young boy with auburn hair and blue eyes; he was intently plucking at the keys on a laptop computer and completely ignoring everyone else. "Ah! Yes, and that is her younger brother, Yukio."

Kagome laughed. "I can see who they take after." Ayame blushed and Koga came up to wrap his arms around her shoulders.

"Well, we decided to stop having children for obvious reasons." Both the twins stopped their actions and glared at their father and everyone burst into laughter again.

"Is there something amusing about making people wait longer than they already have?" A smooth voice fell over the crowd and everyone hushed instantly. Kagome sighed rolled her eyes, turning to face him.

"Always have to have your way, huh?" He walked up to her and stared down at her, glaring at her tone. She smiled and reached out her hand to him, he took hers and ran his fingertips over the soft flesh.

He was still glaring at her, though, and she fidgeted nervously. "Come." She felt a light tug on her arm and he led her up the stairs. Watching his back she felt a little bit of apprehension at this little meeting they were bound to have. After all, it had only been a day since she had seen him. It had been over five hundred years for him.

Could he have lost some of that gentle nature that he had begun to accept while she was around? Or would he go back to being violent and brooding all the time? There was no telling, none of the wolves had answered her questions.

The pull on her arm became a little more determined and his fingers gripped around hers before he walked right into her home as if he owned the place.

"Oh good! There you are! Kagome, you scared me to death making me wait so long!" Her mother came from within the kitchen, where Kagome could see several youkai within cooking.

When everyone was inside, which made the place a little packed, they all sat somewhere and then Sesshomaru began. "I would first like to express my surprise at the job well done by the wolf clan. You have now been released from any charges against your clan on the part of starting this whole mess."

Everyone noticed the deep blush that came across Ayame's face and she hid it in Koga's chest, they laughed a little and then turned back to Sesshomaru. He simply nodded and then looked down to Kagome. "Secondly, I would like to announce that, for the first time in nearly a Millennia, an heir to the house of the moon and the continuation of the inu clan bloodline, is to be born in four months time."

Kagome choked on her drink and sputtered before regaining herself and staring at him. "What!" They looked at her oddly, even her mother gave her a weird glance, but nobody answered her yet. Sesshomaru didn't bother looking at her, he knew she'd be confused, but there was simply no time to explain right yet.

"Now for the purpose of this gathering, as most of you already know why we are here I'll just forego the formalities and get right to business. As we all know, time has changed culture and with that change comes certain obligations that have been left behind or altered simply due to common beliefs and ideals. Therefore, I have waited and searched, with the assistance of the wolf clan, for this day to finally arrive." He turned to look down at Kagome and gave her a searing look.

"Kagome Higurashi, one time miko of the jewel of four souls and first wife of the house of the moon, would you do me the honor of becoming my legal bride?" Kagome's eyes went wide and her mouth hung open in agape. She turned to look at her mother who merely nodded in approval, like she had suggested something to him and he had taken her advice wisely. Her brow furrowed and she bit her lip, looking away from his searing gaze to stare out across the room at the people there.

In all this time she had never been asked if this was what she wanted. Not with the shikon, or with being a miko, or with the time travels, or even with being paired up with the rough InuYasha. Nobody had bothered to ask her if she would appreciate their company or save their existences from a horrible fate. And when the elder brother of her companion came to 'save' her from the hanyou's dishonorable treatment of her… no one had asked her if she wanted to be is wife.

Everything had always been done without her consideration. Now she was finally being asked. But what should she say? 


	32. XXXIII

Chapter Thirty-Three: What I Really Want

Kagome sighed and noticed the nervous fidgeting of several guests. Her eyes traveled across those in the room. Several she recognized, they appeared more human now – probably through some sort of illusion – but they were easily similar to where she could make the connection.

Her mind turned over the idea. She certainly did love Sesshomaru that was something she knew. But did he love her? He had never outright said it, and maybe she was being selfish for wanting that but it was her time! Her time to be selfish, for once, she had done so much for everyone else's hopes and desires and left hers behind.

Now it was time for her to take command and truly ask for what she wanted. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, relaxing her face before turning up to look at Sesshomaru. His facial expression hadn't changed, she couldn't tell if he was worried or angry, and right now she wasn't going to allow herself to care.

"I want romance. I want love. I will not marry without it. I know you can care for me, Sesshomaru, and I know that you can cherish me as one would a woman who they claim under their protection. My feelings for you have no play on this; I must be true to my heart and strive for what I really have longed for." She stood and pulled her hand from within his grasp that had become surprisingly slack. "So, Lord Sesshomaru, I cannot accept your proposal until you have met my qualifications."

She turned away, not looking at any of them, and ran up the stairs to her room. Everyone sat there silently until they heard the smack of the door in the hallway. Mumbling began to circle around, all wondering just what had happened. Kagome's mother sighed and shook her head but stood and smiled. "I think we should eat dinner. Who's hungry?"

"Don't you think someone should go after her?" Koga asked, worried for both the stoic lord who still had yet to move and the woman upstairs. Her mother laughed a little and shook her head.

"Of course not! Kagome's too much like me, such a romantic at heart that she can't see what's right in front of her face unless it's told to her! I did the same thing to her father, you know." She laughed again and walked into the kitchen, followed by several hungry wolves.

Everyone jumped when the loud slam of the front door met their ears. Kagome's mother merely sighed. "Kagome's father did that, too." Several people laughed, but some were a little confused. How was this a good thing?

She had heard the door slam and watched as he stormed off into the wooded area around her home, steamed and angry. Her heart strained and she sighed, fighting to think on why he wouldn't admit his feelings. Was he still so stubborn? A light knock on her door caused her to jump a little and she sniffed, rubbing her face with her sleeve, before smiling at the door and calling out. "Come in!"

Koga came into the room cautiously. He didn't care what her mother said; he wasn't going to allow her to be upset alone. "Hey. You want to talk about it?" She smiled a genuine smile this time and shook her head a little.

"Not really. I don't think there is much to say. I always wanted to marry for love, not for obligations." She sighed and settled back to lean against the wall near her window. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"But don't you love Sesshomaru?" She nodded and looked off into nothing with a wistful gaze.

"Oh yes. Does he love me back? I think so but I need him to admit it… even if it's just to me. Not for any reason other than to say it. Once, I thought he might be saying it, when he died after the fight with Naraku. But he never really said 'Kagome, I love you.' It was more like a child finding surprise at their own emotions." She bit her lip and sighed a little at her own selfish actions. "I can't accept that. He has to really tell me or I'll… I'll always wonder."

Koga frowned and his brow furrowed. "So you doubt him?"

Tears began to stream down her face again and she shook her head a little. "No! Never! I… I doubt myself."

"You think you're not good enough for him?" Inwardly Koga felt himself sigh and roll his eyes. The woman really was insane, but then again she was pregnant so he had to give her credit for holding it together as well as she was. She nodded and he shook his head in disbelief. "You're an idiot."

She looked up at him, sniffling through her tears, confused. "It's not you who's the one not good enough." She let out a little half laugh and he smiled, reaching over to pull her into a much needed hug.

He held her there for a moment, running his hand across her hair in a soothing gesture, and was merely enjoying her presence again when they were interrupted by the door flying open and a very angry Sesshomaru barging in. The inu lord did not say a word. He merely marched over to them, grasped Koga firmly and flung him out the doorway, the force of the air around him causing a suction effect which drew the door closed behind him with a little smack.

Kagome shrieked and backed up into the corner of her room on her bed. Why was he so angry now? "You asked me what I wanted! If you punish me for that you really ARE a bastard!"

Sesshomaru growled a little and walked over to her, sitting on the bed and then reached out to pull her arms down from around her face. "Woman; desist this insane behavior now! I will not harm you. Do you think I waited five hundred years and spent a majority of the past decade in the company of annoying wolves just to abuse you?"

She shook her head violently, a shiver traveling through her body. "No." He frowned and sighed, releasing her from his grasp and she fell against the wall of her room.

"In all this time I have lived I have never met a human which drives me to a rage so quickly! Doesn't this lifestyle drive you to exhaustion?" He didn't allow her to answer, merely continued his rant, baring his teeth in agitation and eyes flashing with rage. "How can you be that stupid? Do you honestly believe that I merely want you around to cook my food and run my house and bear me children?"

"I..." He growled low and she stopped speaking, backing up into the corner further.

"Don't speak! I don't want to hear your voice right now. You've said enough already, certainly. You expect love and romance, do you? What kind? Are you wanting me to go at lengths to bring you the head of some monstrous beast to prove my courage? What of Naraku? Did I not meet that request then! Or perhaps you wish for little trinkets like flowers that soon die or candies which make you fat? What of the many fine things I give you, merely for no other reason than to adorn your beautiful home and person? Do none of those count above stupid little objects that I should purchase just to express my feelings?"

He stood and began to pace, anger radiating off his form and voice rising with each word. "Nay, perhaps you want none of those and wish to be rescued from a fate worse than death! To be the damsel in distress as they are portrayed through time in silly plays and cheap novels. Then I would ask what of my coming to your aide in the presence of my hanyou brother, InuYasha? He mistreated you, ignored you, and yet you still wasted your love on him blindly. Had I not come along at that time and seen his grotesque display of dishonor then I never would have even moved to assist you. Yet, despite your being human I still came to you and carried you through that!"

She was getting angry now and she frowned, throwing a pillow at him and startling him to stop. "I never asked for you to save me! I didn't ask for anything from you!" Everyone downstairs could now hear their heated conversation and was listening intently. This was better than daytime soaps!

Sesshomaru growled out and walked over to her, glaring down on her. "No! You never asked for anything! You begged! With every fiber of your being, Kagome, you begged me to rescue you. You were just waiting for someone to come along and take you away and then when they did you didn't know how to handle it!"

Her face flushed and she screamed in frustration. "Jerk! I did not!"

He smirked and snorted a little. "Oh you most certainly did, my dear, and I never once saw you complaining!"

Sapphire eyes widened and she jabbed a finger into his chest. "ooh! You think so! Nobody ever asked me if I wanted to be in this! You just assumed! I did everything I could to get out of it but you and everyone else just kept pushing and pushing until I caved in."

"Really, Kagome, do I have to throw you down now and remind you just how well you say no?" He grinned and she fumed, rushing to the door and thrusting it open only to squeak in surprise when she nearly ran into several youkai and her little brother who were sitting next to the door listening. She tried to move past them but there were just too many! Before she knew it he was behind her, she could feel that snotty smirk on his face as he placed his hand on her hip and led her back into the room. "Excuse us. She's just a little excited." He closed the door and laughter could be heard on the other side. 


	33. XXXIV

Chapter Thirty-Four: I Suppose I Love You, Too

"Don't touch me! I'm mad at you!" She cried out and ran from him back to the semi comfort of her bed. He watched her with an amused stare and merely went over to sit next to her, as close as possible just to irk her more.

"How very mature of you, my dear, but I'm afraid that you're just going to have to get over it." He reached out and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her while she tried to push away from him. "There's no use in fighting now."

She cried out and tried her best to move away when his lips fell onto hers, crushing her into a heated kiss. Then her traitorous body decided to take over and she found herself melting into him, unable to deny him. For a few minutes the room went silent, they merely sat there and kissed. Their audience had to wonder if she was still alive.

Kagome probably couldn't tell them. Right now, she wasn't sure she could distinguish the difference. Kisses from Sesshomaru were like dying over and over only to be reborn to the same beautiful torturous demise. Tears began to stream down her face again.

How she loved him! But she could not back down now or she would never win anything against him again. Breaking the kiss the turned away from him and lowered her head slightly, placing her lips strategically out of his way. "Sesshomaru, please just give me what I want. For just this one thing I'll do everything for you… anything."

Sesshomaru growled out and thrust her back to the bed roughly, standing and going back to the pacing motion in irritation. "You truly are a nuisance. Why can you not just be happy with things how they are? Am I that inferior of a husband that you would want for more?"

"No! It's not you! I love you just the way you are, Sesshomaru. I just… I can't keep pretending to not want it anymore. I tried so hard. Maeko, Sango, and Miroku all convinced me that I would get over it. I would be happy! They said, and they were right I was happy. I just never got over it. I wanted love still…and now it's worse than ever before!" A little sob escaped her throat and she covered her face with her hands.

He raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her. "How is it worse?"

Her lower lip quivered and she stuttered in her response. She hadn't meant to tell him this. He would never let her live this down. "Because… I… now. Argh!" She screamed out and curled up into herself further. "Because I only want it from you! I could have been happy with anyone who loved me before but no… I learned after Koga took me. All I could do was think about you." She was barely whispering now but her words seemed to impale everyone's hearts.

Koga nervously coughed in slight embarrassment from outside the door but he was quickly ignored. Then the sound of Sesshomaru's voice could be heard again, but he was calm and talking in his normal quiet tones again. "And if I were to tell you that all this boo-hooing and stress that you place yourself under is all redundant?"

Kagome sniffed and turned away from him, shaking with her little sobs. "I know. After all, you're this all mighty and proud youkai. You can't express love. That would ruin your reputation!"

Sesshomaru growled deeply and reached out, grabbing her by the forearms and turning her roughly to face him. "You idiot! Do you really believe that? My reputation is such a miniscule price to pay for your joy!"

Something within her burst, a shuddering feeling of hope that screamed for her to ask him. He might give the right answer! "So.." She looked up into his eyes, her own glittering with her tears. "Are you saying that you do love me?"

"What if I do? Does that change anything?"

She shook her head slowly before answering carefully. "No. I suppose it doesn't. But it'd be nice just to hear it once in a while, just to feel assured that I haven't lost my place with you."

He pulled her close, crushing her body against his and she could feel his warm breath against the fine hairs at the nape of her neck. "Silly woman; you will always be my first and only wife. I would die a thousand deaths and wait millennia after millennia just to be with you. Can you not see that I always loved you?"

Kagome sighed and reached up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and burying her head against his chest. "I love you too, Sesshomaru."

"I know, Kagome, I know." He stepped back and took her hands in his, holding them firmly and looking down on her. "Now will you stop being a stubborn bitch and marry me so I can take you to the home I prepared for you and our children?"

"Why do I have to marry you legally? It won't change anything."

"Ah. Well it seems that we both want things that won't change much, don't we? Besides, it looks better on paper."

She smiled and nodded. "Okay. I'll marry you Sesshomaru."

"It's about time!" Someone yelled from downstairs and Kagome blushed. Had they listened to their entire conversation?

"It's not polite to eavesdrop!" She screamed out and then smirked. "I almost forgot!" Rushing to the door she jerked it open and the group there all jumped in surprise and ran in fright from the malicious look on the woman's face. "Get back here! I'm going to give you all something really enjoyable to listen to! Your screaming!" She started to run out the door but was jerked back when a hand grasped her wrist and pulled her back into the room.

The door closed behind her and she found herself pushed against it with a rather warm body against hers. He trailed kisses down her jawbone and onto her neck, running his hands over her body slowly. "Sesshomaru! What are you doing?"

"Memorizing your body. It's been five hundred years, Kagome. I've forgotten what some of it was like."

She sighed and was ready to push him off but her sighs soon turned to moans and everyone decided that remaining away from the door would probably be in their best interest now. 


	34. XXXV

Chapter Thirty-Five: Dressing for Two

Ayame looked over to Kagome's mother with a smirk. "I bet you and Kagome's father didn't make up like that" Several people laughed but the woman merely shook her head slightly and sighed.

"No. We were in his car, but the end results were fairly similar. After all, how do you think we got Kagome?" She laughed at their shocked expressions and smiled. "You know the saying, 'like mother, like daughter'."

The wolf rolled her eyes and glared towards her daughter who stuck her tongue out at her. "I don't know who came up with that saying but they're a moron." Kagome's mother laughed at them and smiled.

"Well maybe it only applies to humans." Then she sighed wistfully and looked towards a wall in the kitchen, covered in family photographs. "I often wondered if I would get to see Kagome's wedding. You know, with all the time traveling and then how close she became to people there. It was difficult to cling to the hope that I would get to see her married and help her bring grandchildren into my life."

Ayame smiled at the woman, she really liked her. Reminded her of her grandmother, she did. "So… why don't we plan the wedding while they're occupied?" Both women grinned and they grabbed their purses, heading out the door to go to the mall, presumably.

Kagome smiled and lay her head down on Sesshomaru's chest, curling into his warmth with a comfortable stretch. "You know the whole neighborhood probably heard that." Her face began to flush but he merely nodded slowly.

His arm was around her, fingers tracing little circles on her bare back, and his eyes stared out the window into the evening sky above. He was so deep in thought now, it was strange to her. She figured that if he had missed her so much that he would have wanted to talk to her about anything and everything.

Then again, he was a youkai who had lived several years now. Talking was probably very over-rated to him. "Is something wrong?" Her voice startled him a little and he turned to look at her as if seeing her for the first time.

"No. I just want to remember this." Somehow, hearing that from him made her sad. But she merely smiled and kissed him lightly before lying down again and closing her eyes to sleep.

One month later and Kagome was standing on a podium getting her gown fitted for the sixth time. Her abdomen had swollen rather quickly, making it impossible to invite any friends from her current time to her wedding, and recently the pup had begun to kick violently.

She looked at her reflection and sighed. It just looked… wrong. "I look like a fat marshmallow with pretty hair." Everyone laughed but shook their heads at her, used to the odd comments of girls on this particular podium. "I don't really like this, you know. I think I should wear something else."

The seamstress stopped her work immediately and looked to Kagome's mother who was sitting to the side with Ayame, both eying the girl critically. "Well, what is it you think would suit you better, honey? A longer skirt maybe?"

Kagome sighed and stepped off the podium, marching into the changing room to rip off the ugly gown and get back into her summer dress. "No! I don't like this at all!" She screamed out and raced through the shop and out to sit in the car.

Both women sighed and apologized to the seamstress before taking the hormonal woman home. "What's wrong, Kagome?" Her mother asked, concerned for her daughter.

"Nothing. It just… doesn't feel natural."

Ayame smiled back at her from the front passenger seat. "Well do you know what you'd like?"

Kagome sighed and bit her lip for a moment, staring out the window in deep thought. Suddenly her eyes widened and she started to laugh a little. "Yes, I think I do know."

She didn't tell them what she had planned, though, and so it was a complete surprise to everyone when they heard her upstairs, supposedly dressing but mostly yelling about how it wasn't working out. "No! Why won't this fit now! I haven't grown that much."

Kagome pouted and threw herself down on her bed with a heavy sigh. The door opened and closed but she didn't hear it and so when a voice broke the silence she nearly jumped out of her skin. "It appears that you are missing something."

Looking up she saw slightly amused amber eyes focused on her and squealed in nervous excitement. "You aren't supposed to be here! It's bad luck!"

He frowned and growled a little, causing her to still. "That's a silly superstition. As if I haven't seen it all, anyway, you're being ridiculous." While he spoke he held out the needed item and she smiled at him.

"How did you know?"

Reaching around her he wrapped the obi to her waist and then tied it in his classic bow. She looked beautiful. "I have my ways." They stood there for a moment, she leaning into him and him with his arms around her shoulders, watching their own reflection in the mirror.

She had chosen a hand made kimono, designed specifically for her, it was a traditional wedding kimono in that it was bright in color, mostly reds and blues. However, what was the most amazing was how detailed she had ordered it to be. Across the back was an image of a giant white dog demon with a blue crescent moon, howling over an ocean cliff-side. Overhead flowers fell, which splashed across her shoulder and ended in the geometric pattern that he favored on his own haori.

All together it was a beautiful piece. A fitting wrapping for such a lovely package, and a wonderful choice by her to choose a traditional kimono over one of those ugly gowns; as if she could hear his thoughts she reached up and placed a hand on his arm, smiling. The ending piece, the one which brought it full circle, however, was the object he had brought to her just now.

She had a white obi, sitting on the bed, but it was a tight fit and she couldn't get it around her swollen abdomen. So, after hearing her plight through the door he had gone to his personal storage and found the old yellow and blue water patterned one he had worn when they met. It was long enough to accommodate her with comfort and a very sentimental piece, which gave her whole appearance even more appeal.

He took her hand in his and then turned her to look down in her eyes. "Let's go. They're waiting." He watched her sigh a little and then reach up to run her fingertips over his cheek.

"Let them wait." 


	35. XXXVI

Chapter Thirty-Six: A Mother's Gift is Her Love

He held the bloody infant in his hands while it screamed at the world, staring at it in a bit of awe and a bit of confusion. They had thrust the child into his hands to see to the afterbirth and here he was, walking to the little cleaning table with his child in his hands.

She was so tiny. Yes, a girl. It would figure that she would give him a girl first. Aiko, that's what Kagome had called her. He supposed it was appropriate. Not that it mattered much to him what she was called, she had ten fingers and ten toes and lungs that broke glass. She was healthy, that was all that was important.

Her little white ears turned slightly, she had inherited her late uncle's appearance, much to Sesshomaru's chagrin. The child looked very much like InuYasha, not only did she have the little dog ears atop her head but she also had whiter hair, instead of the smooth silver strands that her father claimed. Also, she had taken to the family eye color of amber, that was pleasing, but her eyes were wide from Kagome and so that only added to her looking like her uncle.

He set her down on the cleaning table and a set of nurses rushed over to see to her, calling out figures and asking for items. Stepping back he merely watched the baby lay there and cry until another cry drew his attention. Kagome's mother was upset by something.

"No! Sweetie, don't do this! She's beautiful, you should just see her! Come on, stay with us. Please! Kagome!" Sesshomaru's eyes widened slightly and he rushed over to the bed, sitting gently next to his wife.

She was very pale and wouldn't open her eyes. This was familiar. Too familiar. "Kagome." He spoke gently but firmly and she stirred a little. "You promised you would not do this again."

Kagome sighed a little and nodded, very slightly. "I can't... help… so… cold." She shivered and he reached out, pulling several fur blankets over her as well as wrapping his own arms around her to try and comfort her. "Aiko…"

"She's all right. Quite healthy, you did fine. But you need to rest now. She'll be here when you wake." He looked over to see Kagome's mother begin to shake with sobs and shook his head slightly, indicating to her not to allow her emotions to overwhelm her.

Then he turned to look at her, lying among the pillows on their bed and breathing very slowly and shallow. He ran his hand over her hair, smoothing it back and she sighed a little before her lungs began trying to gasp for breath. One... she shivered and wheezed a little. Two… Her pulse began to race, trying to catch up but failing horrible. Three… Her heart stopped suddenly and her body convulsed slightly before going still.

Sesshomaru stood and everyone watched him as he slowly walked to the bedroom closet. The only sounds in the room were the scuffling of his movements and the crying of the baby, who now wailed louder than before. He returned with his trusty sword, yet another thing in his life that he had once shunned only to come to appreciate.

Tenseiga hummed happily, it had been a while since he had held it. Yet, it seemed that there was a problem. Sesshomaru stood there for a moment, staring towards the woman lying in bed. Nothing was happening.

Perhaps he should get closer. He walked towards the bedside and stood there, right next to her, but still nothing came. An hour passed. He stood there, waiting, but no sign of the little demons from hell. Kagome's mother was now sobbing horribly and the baby would not stop crying.

She was dead. Really dead, what had happened? He glared over at the midwives and they slunk back, lowering their heads. A complication in the pregnancy, they told him. It's a rare occurrence except with hanyou birthing and because of the rarity of those not commonly diagnosed. They explained that Kagome had been well warned of the risks and had been stressed upon to think of getting a cesarean.

Kagome had adamantly refused them.

He dropped the sword and turned to walk to the baby who was now lying under a heating lamp. She was all he had left now. Taking the child in his arms once again he looked at her carefully and then whimpered to her, she stilled and then became quiet. She knew her father and now that was a vital part of her survival.

They buried her that weekend there on the family grave site. It was dotted with old grave markers and mausoleums which were well cared for. Kagome was placed to rest in the center one, a circular round building between two smaller ones.

The left had a plaque which read "InuYasha – Kikyo" and the right had a similar one which said "Miroku – Sango". Just ahead to the south was another mausoleum that was rectangular, apparently planning for a larger group. The plaque simply read. "Children", everyone found it odd how weird it felt to wish that the place would be filled but knew that it could never be.

However… the middle one was halfway there already. On it's plaque it merely read "First Wife"… a monument to her place within the stoic lord's life and heart.

Sesshomaru did not attend the funeral. He remained within the house, wandering the halls with the small infant hanyou girl in his arms. People whispered rumors that it was possible the great youkai had gone mad. He was said to have begun talking to himself lately, even.

Kagome's mother knew this was wrong, though. She had overheard him talking one day and was a little surprised at what she heard. He was walking the halls slowly, the baby staring at him intently, and in that smooth gentle voice he would say. "Aiko… I'm going to tell you a story. A story about a beautiful princess…A princess who taught a lonely prince the true meaning of family honor…"

FIN 


End file.
